Terp Cross Country To Compete In Third Meet Of Season

Sept. 25, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Terps will face some tough competition this weekend as they travel to Bethlehem, Pa., to compete in the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh University. Maryland is resting its top runners this weekend, leaving the meet on the capable legs of the rest of the squad.

A Look At The 2002 Paul Short Invite

Lehigh University hosts the 2002 Invite, on Saturday, Sept. 28, in Bethlehem, Pa. The race will be held at the Goodman Campus cross country course.

Both Maryland teams will be without their top four runners this weekend. Head coach Trent Sanderson has chosen to rest them so that they will be better prepared for the Indiana Invitational next weekend, which will be the teams' toughest challenge yet. Racing this weekend will be the Terp reserves, who are still expected to finish well in the 33-team field.

Junior Lorna Dorland (Berwyn Heights, Md.) is suffering from leg problems and will not compete this weekend. She is day-to-day and her participation in the Indiana Invitational will be decided upon in the coming week.

Competing at the meet will be regional rivals American, Penn State, Pennsylvania, Rutgers, UMBC, Delaware, Delaware Valley, Princeton, William & Mary and West Virginia.

Following the Paul Short Invitational, the Terps will face several nationally ranked teams at the Indiana Invitational on Oct. 5. Also that weekend, the Terp reserves will be traveling to the Maryland Championships, held at the UM Eastern Shore campus.

A Season Ago In Lehigh

The men's team placed 19th out of an expansive 39-team field at the 2001 Paul Short Invitational. Penn State, Bucknell and West Virginia swept first through third place, respectively.

Leading the men last year was Mike Prada (Fulton, Md.), who finished in a time of 25:47.53, placing 46th. He was the only Terp to finish in the top 50 out of 274 runners at the meet.

The women's team took 23rd out of 39 teams. Penn State and Bucknell again swept first and second. Moravian took third place to round out the top three.

The women failed to have a runner place in the top 100 at last season's Invite. Finishing fastest for the Terps was Kristin Lubas, who took 101st, but did not return to the Terp sqaud this year. Kim Smith (Glastonbury, Conn.) was the next-fastest Maryland runner, with a 23:15.48 and 114th place out of 269 runners.

Navy Invitational Recap

The Maryland men's team won fourth place out of a field of 15 total teams at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. This greatly improved their finish at last year's Navy meet, where the men took home fifth out of six teams.

The women's team was barely edged out of first place by Navy, who won the meet by a two-point margin. This finish is also a dramatic improvement from last season, when the women won fourth out of six teams.

Leading the men once again were Adam Ambrus (Shamong, N.J.) and Mike Prada, who took seventh and 11th place, respectively. Ambrus' time of 25:12.77 was nearly two minutes faster than his time at last year's Navy meet. Prada also showed improvement, as his time was nearly 30 seconds faster than his performance last season.

The speedy duo of freshmen Katie Purcell (Coraopolis, Pa.) and Cori Koch (Lutherville, Md.) led the women's team for the second meet in a row. Purcell's time of 18:33.34 earned her second place overall, and a spot in the top 10 all-time at the USNA course. Koch's time of 18:58.15 won her seventh place.

Terp Cross Country To Compete In Third Meet Of Season

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