The men and women of cross country traveled to Bethlehem, Pa. and competed in this past Saturday’s Paul Short Run at Lehigh University. The men’s side placed 29th out of 43 teams, and the women’s section finished 43rd in a field of 44 teams.

The men’s College Gold 8K circuit was won by Penn State senior Evan Dorenkamp with a time of 23:53.7, and the team crown was attained by Yale.

The Fordham men were led by senior Steven Zucca. The senior placed 70th overall in the five-mile dash with a time of 24:52.6. Graduate student Colin Flood finished 120th overall in 25:11.7, and freshman Sean Reidy grabbed 168th with a mark of 25:30.9.

Freshman Jack Boerger placed 240th in 25:57.6. Freshman Matthew McCabe finished 310th with a time of 26:28.0. Sophomore Darren Croke was 319th with a mark of 26:33.5. Sophomore  Nicolas Grabarz placed 358th in 27:18.2. Freshmen John Corrigan and Tadael Mihret were 365th in 27:42.0 and 378th in 28:41.9, respectively.

As for the women’s end, Fordham did not not have a top 100 finisher. South Carolina freshman Judy Kosgei won the women’s Gold 6K with a time of 19:54.9, and the team title went to Utah Valley.

Junior Caitrina Barton was the Rams’ strongest runner. She nabbed 222nd overall and completed the 6K course in 22:37.0.

The seven remaining Fordham runners placed outside of the top 300 finishers.

Senior Marin Bogulski placed 344th in 23:47.6. Junior Madeleine Ryan was 349th with a final time of 23:56.7. Freshman Kate Meeks nabbed 354th with a time of 24:05.4. Sophomore Alexis Smith was 366th in 24:34.5. Sophomore Quincy Biddle placed 367th in 24:34.7.

Senior Maddy Kopec finished the course in 24:54.0, good enough for 377th place, and graduate student Alexandra Thomas ranked 378th with a time of 24:54.4.

It was not an ideal showing for the Rams, and the scope of the competition seemingly made attaining top spots much harder.

Cross Country will have a chance to bounce back on Saturday, Oct. 7 when they travel to Newark for the NJIT-hosted Metropolitan Championship.