Complete Results
LEHIGH, Pa. – After being away from the competitive slate for three weeks, the top varsity of the nationally-ranked No. 3 men's cross country team returned to action on Friday at the Paul Short Invitational, one of the largest and most prestigious college cross country meets in the nation. The Gators, who finished ahead of the University of Pittsburgh as well as Patriot League powers Bucknell and Army, finished 21st overall and were the top Division III team in the field.
Senior Jeramie Parker was the first Allegheny runner through the chute, finishing 42nd overall in a personal-record time of 24:49. Parker finished just ahead of the University of Virginia's number four in a tough battle with several Division I standouts. The Cavaliers, who finished second at last season's Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships, grabbed the team title on Friday.
Ryan Sullivan delivered an outstanding effort in securing the second position for the Gators. Finishing 98th in the field, Sullivan battled past Georgetown sophomore Evan Bloomberg and a pair of Duquesne University seniors in the homestretch, while crossing the line in a career-best clip of 25:11.
“Sullivan was huge for us today,” said head coach Brent Wilkerson. “The team needs Ryan to perform well, and as a team we need to continue to work on closing our spread.”
2009 All-American Chris Marker was with Parker through the first mile (4:55) and had a great first 5k, but the sloppy course conditions aided in a sub-par effort for the dynamite talent as he finished 149th with a time of 25:29.
“We had a solid effort today, especially considering the poor weather and the tough workouts earlier this week,” said head coach Brent Wilkerson. “We are not concerned with being the best team now. We want to be the best team when it matters, at the end of the season.”
Senior Zac Ross completed the 8000-meter circuit in 25:35. One second and two places later, junior Patrick McLaughlin capped Allegheny's scoring as the Gators finished four points up on St. Lawrence University, which is nationally-ranked No. 8 in the latest Division III national poll.
Senior Andrew Mahone and sophomore Mike Vlah rounded out Allegheny's contingent. Both runners set personal records, Mahone in 26:13, and Vlah in 26:32, but the coaching staff would love to see their hard work translate into a smaller delta for the team. The Gators actually proved to be one of the better pack-running teams in the meet as the scoring unit finished with a spread of 46 seconds.
