One week after earning first place at the Ramapo Invitational, the men’s cross country squad stayed on top by winning the Paul Short Run.
The Roadrunners edged out 35 other schools on Friday at the meet hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, P.A. Ramapo averaged a time of 27:11 and finished with a score of 107-which is calculated by averaging the finishing places of the team’s top five competitors. At second place, the University of Mary Washington fell 18 points shy of Ramapo’s mark.
Junior Colin English led the way for Ramapo, finishing fifth with a 26:37 time. Freshman Paul Juelis made a splash in his Paul Short debut, placing in 14th at 27:02. Captain Tim Paziora trailed Juelis by six seconds, securing 17th place for the senior.
Sophomores Billy Howell and Peter Tuohy rounded out Ramapo’s top five, clocking in at 27:19 and 27:48, respectively.
The women also improved their performance at Paul Short, finishing fourth after ranking 10th last season. Junior Courtney Schofield came in at 12th with a 23:55 time while Taylor Shanley placed second for Ramapo and 37th overall at 24.44.
In his first time competing in the prestigious event, freshman Brendan Conway helped Ramapo improve on their 17th place performance last year by finishing 67th overall out of 322 runners. Conway, who admitted that the runaway victory was unexpected even though “everyone thought we could get top five, top three,” said this win will fuel their desire to ride the hot hand (or legs) all the way to a New Jersey Athletic Conference championship.
“It’ll give us a feel of winning,” Conway said. “[It] makes us hungry for a bigger title.”
According to Tuohy, Ramapo’s strong showing at the first Ramapo Invitational helped the team realize its sky-high prospects going forward this season.
“We started to realize that we have potential as a team,” Tuohy said. “That’s why we’re looking at the NJACs to do something big.”
The Roadrunners will look to maintain their winning streak at the Connecticut College XC Invitational on Oct. 13. The meet represents the runners’ last chance to shine before fighting for the NJAC Championship on Oct. 27.
In addition to conference title hopes, the men hope to star in NCAA Regionals on Nov. 10.
Conway has noticed a tight team bond during his rookie season at Ramapo. He said everyone continues to challenge each other to set higher standards and reach grander levels. After capturing two straight victories, the bar will have to be lifted up again.
“We’re pretty close as a team,” Conway said. “We push each other a lot.”
As he commented on the team’s closeness, Paziora further displayed the team’s camaraderie by jovially hugging his teammate.
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agould1@ramapo.edu
