In their first road tests of the season, both the Stony Brook Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams ended with top-20 finishes in the Paul Short Run. The meet, which took place at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, featured a men’s 8-kilometer race and a women’s 6-kilometer race.
The men’s team finished 17th overall out of 38 teams. It was led by freshman Cameron Avery, who finished with a time of 24:44, good for 84th overall at the meet. Avery “finished well after a slow start,” head coach Andy Ronan said in a news release. Sophomore Nick Diaz finished 103rd overall with a time of 24:55.
Redshirt sophomore Danny Connelly joined the twosome across the line in under 25 minutes, while sophomore Bryce Hedman finished in 25:02.1.
Ronan had set a top-15 finish as a goal for the men’s team.
Senior Christine Eisenberg, who came in 34th overall, finishing with a time of 20:42, led the women’s team. After the run, Ronan had high praise for Eisenberg’s effort saying that it was “probably her best cross country run to date.”
Junior Annika Sisson also had a good showing, finishing 69th with a time of 21:07. Ronan commended her run. “I felt Annika Sisson had a solid run considering she was not feeling well before the race,” he said.
Senior Elizabeth Caldwell had a poor performance, compared with her typical lofty standards, finishing 180th overall.
The women’s team finished 19th overall out of 44 teams competing at the event. Ronan did come out of the meet disappointed in the overall performance of his team.
“Today was an eye opener for both squads,” he said. “It was the first time we were really challenged and our response was less than I would like to have seen.”
He did take an optimistic view on how the meet will affect both teams moving forward.
“Bottom line is we did not achieve what we set out to achieve this weekend,” he said. “But the experience will make both teams better by the end of the season and that’s what matters.”
The teams will look to learn from the Pennsylvania meet and try to reach their goals at their next meet, scheduled for Oct. 15 at the Pre-NCAA Meet in Terre Haute, Indiana.
