Terps Primed for Paul Short Run
9/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland cross country team will return to competition this Saturday, October 1 at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa. This will be the 43rd edition of the infamous cross country race, which draws thousands of runners from across the country every year.
The flat winding course around the Murray H. Goodman Athletic Campus of Lehigh University delivers fast results year in and year out, with over 40 teams scheduled to compete in the College Women's “Gold” 6K race this season. The Terps are set to start at approximately 11:45 am Saturday morning.
a look at the terps
Maryland is off to one of its best starts in years from a team standpoint, winning both of its early season meets against local opponents. The Terps started off the season with a victory at the Mount Saint Mary's 5K duals, the first win for UMD at the event since its inception in 2004.
The team followed up its season opening performance with a meet victory at the Salty Dog Invitational on September 10. It was Maryland's first win since 2010 at the annual meet hosted by the Naval Academy, as the Terps edged the Mids by five points with a team score of 43.
Maryland's top-three comprised of seniors Sydney Almeida and Alexa Squirini, along with freshman Kathryn Gearhart have paced the team through the first month of the season. Gearhart has gotten her first collegiate season off to a hot start, finishing as Maryland's No. 1 runner in both meets. She was named Terp of the Week after posting a third place finish (23:06.76) at the Salty Dog.
Almeida and Squirini have also been in the top-10 in each race, while freshmen Caroline Augelli and Paige Novak have immediately contributed through their first pair of college races.
Junior Alexandra Lucki is also set to make her season debut at the Paul Short Run on Saturday, coming off the 2016 outdoor track season where she qualified for her first NCAA Championships. Lucki was Maryland's top runner at four different events last season, including the Paul Short Run and NCAA Regionals.
paul short history
Maryland has seen steady improvement at the Paul Short over the past few seasons, climbing 25 spots up the team standings since 2013. Maryland's 15th place finish last season was its best showing since 2005 (4th) with three runners finishing inside the top-75.
Senior Sydney Almeida has ran at the meet in all three of her seasons at Maryland, improving 180 places while knocking 1:30 off her time from her freshman (2013) to junior (2015) year. Alex Lucki jumped 39 places from 2014 to last season's race, finishing as Maryland No. 1 runner in 21:14.
Seniors Karah O'Halloran, Alexa Squirini and Charde' Barnes all have experience on the course running for the Terps over the past two seasons.
next up
Maryland will lace up the spikes again on Saturday, October 15 in Princeton, N.J. when the team competes at the Princeton Invitational.
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