Women’s Cross Country Place 23rd at Paul Short Run

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – West Chester University's women's cross country squad finished 23rd out of 40 teams with 626 points at the 41st annual Paul Short Run at Lehigh University Saturday morning.

The Golden Rams competed in the "Brown" race, which held 360 runners in the 6k event.

Junior Amanda Eisman (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) claimed 11th place with a time of 21:57, which was the second best West Chester time on this course in the past 11 years.

Eisman continues to impress as she was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) female cross country athlete of the week twice in the span of three weeks, including two career collegiate victories.

Leigh Manning Smith (West Chester, Pa. / Henderson) made great strides finishing 60th at 22:51, earning the fourth best time on this course for the Golden Rams in the past 11 years. Placing 10th on that list was Laurel Jones (Chambersburg, Pa. / Chambersburg) with a time of 23:49, claiming 170th.

The next four Golden Rams to cross the finish line were Mallory Drake (Hillsborough, N.J. / Hillsborough) at 210th in 24:13, while her teammate Ali Smith (Shippensburg / Big Spring) took 237th in 24:29. Caitlin Cheruka (Wallingford, Pa. / Strath Haven) was 334th in 26:02 and Sam Russell (Easton, Pa. / Easton Area) finished at 357th in 28:48.

Bucknell University captured the title with 81 points.

The Golden Rams return to action October 11th for the SRU Invitational at 10:00 a.m. in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.