Bethlehem, Pa. –– Due to unseasonably hot weather conditions, the Lehigh Paul Short Run was forced to cancel the final six races, including the men's and women's Brown Races. Fortunately, the Eagles of American University cross country had a small contingent of athletes compete earlier in the day in the Men's and Women's Open races. 
 
A trio of Eagles competed in the Open Women's 6k, everyone significantly improved upon their 6k times from the last time out at the Spiked Shoe Invite.  Kara Langbaum crossed the line first for AU at 23:48.5, improving by 36 seconds, followed by Fiona Murphy (24:19.5) who improved by 31 seconds, and Scarlett Lestina (24:53.7) who improved by 1:06 from three weeks ago. 
 
In the Open Men's 8k, Jaxyn Mahoney crossed the line first at 26:56.2, followed by Daniel Messer (27:13.6) who was back on the course for the first time this season, and Daden Grogan who posted an 8k personal best of 28:43.5.
 
The Eagles will be back in action in two weeks' time on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the ECAC/IC4A Championships.  
 
Coaches' Corner
"It was a bit of a strange day up in Lehigh today," said head coach Sean Graham on the day. " We knew going in the heat might be a challenge and honestly, we were prepared for it but didn't think it would be to the extent that it was to have to cancel the meet. We had a great start to the day in the open races with all three of our women showing significant improvement from last time out.
 
"Similarly on the men's side it was great to have Daniel Messer back on the cross country course," he continued. "Daden and Jaxyn both had strong performances even in the heat. I am certainly not pleased that we did not get the opportunity to race today but absolutely agree with the decision that had to be made up here for the safety of the athletes. We will take advantage of this situation as it allows us to really put in another solid two weeks of training to expand on the fitness that we've already gained in the last cycle."
 
"Strong start to the day with the open races," said assistant coach Jordyn Pugh. "We all improved upon last time and made a big step forward. Despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the race cancellation, the squad had really good goals going in, and I'm excited to see how training carries us into the next opportunity."
 
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