Don't see your stats or think something's missing? Claim your MileSplit athlete profile now to take control of your results, PRs, and recruiting profile.
The Paul Short Run is one of the largest meets on the East Coast year after year, with schools from NJ, NY, DE, and MD traveling to the infamous Leigh University to race on the very fast Paul Short course. This year is no different, with around 4000 entries for just the high school day of racing; we will see fast times for sure, but we will also see teams battling for titles to see who really is the best of the best. Rankings don't matter now; it's about who shows up on the day and is the best of the best. The fight for team pride is on tomorrow, as out of any of the 3 seasons of running cross country feels the most like a team sport, as time is somewhat irrelevant and it just matters who beats who for the team scores.
With all of that being said, that is not the reason Paul Short pulls in so many entries; the reason is to give kids a confidence booster and let everyone run a fast time. The course record is 14:43 from Brian Dicola back in 2022, and we could see a real shot at that course record going down tomorrow as both Luke Bradbury and Jonah Montagnese are traveling all the way from the western part of PA for a sub-15 attempt and maybe more.
Boys Preview:
Paul Short is featuring great competition this year for the boys' teams. The Gold Race will feature PA #2-ranked La Salle, #3-ranked State College, and #4-ranked North Penn. Other notable teams that will be there are Manheim Township, Hershey, and Perkiomen Valley, who are all ranked in the state's top 10.
Last year, we saw North Penn dominantly win the meet with 104 points and a 15:52 average. This will be their test to see whether they are the same state-champion-caliber team they were last year, or if La Salle and State College will be the teams they target at States.
The race for the individual champion will feature Luke Bradbury, Jonah Montagnese, and Brock Yoder. Bradbury and Montagnese are the #1 and #2 ranked runners in the state, with Yoder at #5. However, Yoder took 2nd place last year in a blazing 14:56, making him the top returner.
Girls Preview:
On the girls' side, the Gold Race will feature PA #2 Downingtown West and #4 State College. Neither of these teams competed at the race last year, nor have they competed head-to-head yet this year.
Last year's champion was Gwynedd-Mercy Academy with their senior-heavy team, who are not nearly as good this year.
For the individual title, we will see last year's champion, Kendra Williamson of Episcopal Academy, return to the field and match up against Julia Kelly of Downingtown West. Julia Leady of Daniel Boone will also be in contention for the title. Although Williamson won this meet last year, Kelly set the high school course record and became the first girl to ever go under 17 at the Lehigh course later into last year's season.