BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The American University cross country team ran strong races at the Paul Short Run (Oct. 3), with the men's team placing second in the 38-team Brown Race. Senior Kaden Kluth led the Eagles placing fourth individually, while in the women's Brown Race, freshman Shealyn Brochu broke into the top 10 with a sixth place finish. Several Eagles ran personal bests in both the brown and open races, setting a solid foundation for the Patriot League Championships (Oct. 31) and NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional (Nov. 14) on the same course.

The open racers set the tone in the morning with several personal bests. Jack Chandler started the day with a one-minute 8k PR of 26:36.9 in the open 8k, placing 261st. In the women's open race, Annie Ripol (112th) led the Eagles with a 6k PR of 23:01.9. Scarlett Lestina placed 163rd with a PR of 23:32.4; Skyler Tatum (165th) was close behind in 23:33.1, just off her personal best. Fiona Murphy also ran a PR, placing 216th in 24:03.5.

In the afternoon, the Eagles in the men's Brown Race were led by senior Kaden Kluth in fourth place with an 8k time of 24:25.6. Senior Carver Morgan (24:55.8) and sophomore Noah Smith (25:01.1) broke into the top 20, placing 17th and 20th, respectively. Senior Cooper Michaud followed in 33rd with a time of 25:15.9. Freshman Emmett Engelhardt stepped up to round out the scoring, running a PR of 25:34.0 to place 48th.

In the women's Brown Race, the women placed ninth out of 39 teams, a 14-place improvement from the team's last time competing at Paul Short in 2023. Freshman Shealyn Brochu again led the charge, placing sixth in a 6k PR of 21:09.5. Freshman Emma Colavito followed in 27th place, running a PR of 21:40.5. Freshman Lydia Drago (75th) ran 22:29.4, just off her PR, followed closely by sophomore Zoe Rector (78th) in a PR of 22:31.1. Sophomore Kara Langbaum rounded out the scoring in 147th, running a PR of 23:09.4.

COACHES' CORNER
"We had a very strong day of competition today at Paul Short across all of the races," said head coach Sean Graham. "We made the decision to place the teams in races that we could work on the areas that will lead to better success in the postseason, and I'm confident we accomplished that goal today.

"On the men's side, we came away with a runner-up team finish in what was a more tactical race. Kaden and Carver lead the squad again this week with Kaden finishing in fourth place and Carver in 17th. Noah Smith had a very strong race just off of Carver, in 20th. And Cooper and freshman Emmett Englehardt were our fourth and fifth men today. I'm happy with the momentum the team is building as we move forward through the regular season.

"We've got two more weeks now to go back to work before we hit it again up in New York at the IC4A Championships. We have a few more pieces of the puzzle that we'll be bringing into the mix fully up there before we head into the conference championships after that. Again, a good step forward, and a great understanding of what we have left to sharpen up."

"I think we had a really solid day that continued our momentum from Penn State," said associate head coach Zach Prescott. "Shealyn and Emma led the pack with two phenomenal days, placing sixth and 27th, both with PRs. Lydia and Zoe both fought through tired legs to compete well. Our fifth through ninth runners interchanged throughout the day and pushed each other to create a great team finish. Our average time for our top five was almost 90 seconds faster than our last time at this race.

"I was also impressed by Annie, Scarlett, Skyler, ad Fiona for setting the tone in the open race, all running PRs or close to their PRs. Overall this sets us up really well for our conference meet, allowing a young group to preview the course and compete."

View the full results here.

Next Up
The Eagles will take a brief break from Pennsylvania in two weeks, traveling to the Bronx for the ECAC/IC4A Championships on Friday, Oct. 17.

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MEN'S RESULTS (2/38)
Brown Race
4. Kaden Kluth, 24:25.6
17. Carver Morgan, 24:55.8
20. Noah Smith, 25:01.1
33. Cooper Michaud, 25:15.9
48. Emmett Engelhardt, 25:34.0 (PR)
95. Ty Parker, 26:00.1
181. Zack Zerbe, 26:47.6
213. Barak Goldstein, 27:00.8

Open Race
261. Jack Chandler, 26:36.9 (PR)

WOMEN'S RESULTS (9/39)
Brown Race
6. Shealyn Brochu, 21:09.5 (PR)
27. Emma Colavito, 21:40.5 (PR)
75. Lydia Drago, 22:29.4
78. Zoe Rector, 22:31.1 (PR)
147. Kara Langbaum, 23:09.4 (PR)
157. Charlotte Orr, 23:15.4 (PR)
203. Georgina Chalow, 23:43.0 (PR)
215. Kate Riley, 23:48.5
232. Estella Miller, 24:03.4

Open Race
112. Annie Ripol, 23:01.9 (PR)
163. Scarlett Lestina, 23:32.4 (PR)
165. Skyler Tatum, 23:33.1
216. Fiona Murphy, 24:03.5 (PR)
239. Hannah Schwab, 24:20.3
413. Hannah Puckett, 28:24.3