Sept. 26, 2007

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette cross country will travel the short distance to Bethlehem, Pa. to participate in the Paul Short Invitational on Friday.

The 34th annual race will take place at Lehigh University's Goodman Cross Country Course. The day-long event will feature 11 high school and collegiate races, involving hundreds of schools.

"It is certainly going to give our athletes an opportunity to compete against the very best in the whole country," said head coach Julio Piazza. "It is one of the premiere cross country meets in the U.S., and we're fortunate to be able to go to such a prestigious meet in our backyard."

Lafayette will join more than 40 schools in the Division I collegiate race, including fellow Patriot League schools Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh and Navy. The men's 8k race is at 1 p.m. and the women will run a 6k race at 1:40 p.m.

The Leopards will be looking for strong performances from freshmen Margaret Bruno-Metzger and Ryan Stasiowski, who led the team on this course earlier in the month at the Lehigh Valley Championships.

The awards ceremony will take place at Goodman Stadium at 5:15 p.m.