Saturday, October 5
Bethlehem, Pa.
10:15 AM ET
Liberty University
at
Paul Short Run
(L-R): Raini Mayo, Emma Unger, Emma Ervi
Lady Flames Race to 3rd-Place Finish in Paul Short Run Brown Race
10/5/2024 5:15:00 PM | Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One day after their teammates placed fourth at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, a second group of Liberty women's cross country runners fared well in the 50th Paul Short Run brown race on Saturday. The Lady Flames came in third of 35 squads with freshmen claiming seven of the team's top eight positions at Lehigh's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.
Freshman Emma Unger (22:04.4) paced the team in 19th place for the 6K course as Liberty totaled 214 points. The Lady Flames trailed only New Hampshire (103 points) and Catawba (156) in the final standings of what amounted to the women's "B" race.
Race Reactions
Liberty will compete in two different races on Oct. 19. The men's team and top women's runners will take part in the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals (Madison, Wis.), while the remainder of the Lady Flames will race at the Roanoke XC Invitational (Salem, Va.).
Freshman Emma Unger (22:04.4) paced the team in 19th place for the 6K course as Liberty totaled 214 points. The Lady Flames trailed only New Hampshire (103 points) and Catawba (156) in the final standings of what amounted to the women's "B" race.
Race Reactions
- The Lady Flames moved up impressively throughout Saturday's race. Liberty was in 27th place as a team at the one-mile mark and sat in 15th at the two-mile checkpoint.
- All nine Liberty runners improved their position between the two-mile split and the finish line, led by Emma Ervi, who went from 148th place to 49th over that span.
- Freshmen Unger, Rachel Hill (22:42.0, 48th place), Ervi (22:42.2, 49th), Raini Mayo (22:53.1, 69th), Danielle Hostetler (22:56.4, 75th), Payton Holtz (23:12.0, 100th) and Jessica Cox (23:24.4, 122nd) all contested the 6K distance for the first time on Saturday. For Hostetler, it marked her first collegiate race of any kind.
- Sophomore Sophia Park (22:14.7, 29th) was the lone non-freshman among the Lady Flames' scorers. She shattered her previous 6K best of 23:05.2 from last year's Paul Short Run.
- Liberty also had seven women's runners compete in Saturday morning's open 6K. Leading the way was Rebecca Brown, who placed 96th of 488 finishers in a personal-best 23:15.7.
Liberty will compete in two different races on Oct. 19. The men's team and top women's runners will take part in the Wisconsin Pre-Nationals (Madison, Wis.), while the remainder of the Lady Flames will race at the Roanoke XC Invitational (Salem, Va.).
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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