The AU men’s cross-country team finished 18th out of 45 at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa., Sept. 30, while the women’s team finished 22nd out of 44. Lehigh University hosted the race.
Although the women’s team’s performance was underwhelming as a whole, there certainly was a bright spot, as senior Octavia Rinehardt finished second of 385 finishers in the 6K race. She came through with a time of 21:42, just a couple of seconds after race winner Vanessa Wright of Rowan University.
Rinehardt places second for Eagles
Rinehardt is continuing a strong career at AU with an impressive year, as she came in fourth place overall Sept. 17 at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. That performance resulted in Rinehardt being named the Patriot League Female Runner of the Week and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Female Runner of the Week. She also came in first place in the Mt. St. Mary’s 5K Duals to open the season Sept. 2.
The next Eagle to come across the finish line on the women’s side was sophomore Alexandra Tyburski, who came in 78th place with a time of 23:40. Freshman Leah Gellineau came in next for the Eagles with a time of 24:06.
Iona College took home first place as a team, followed in second place by the University of Tampa. Marist College and Rowan tied for third place honors.
The three other finishes on the AU women’s side came from:
• Julia Sullivan, sophomore, 191st, 24:41;
• Carly Birkhold, sophomore, 221st, 25:07;
• Rachael Wolff, sophomore, 245th, 25:35.
Olsen top performer for men
Senior Josh Olsen led the way for the men’s team with a time of 25:16 to finish 59th out of 402 runners. He was joined shortly thereafter by junior Mark Allen, who registered a time of 25:32.
Allen is also having a strong season for AU, as he was named the Patriot League Male Runner of the Week after he joined Rinehardt in first at the season-opening Mt. St. Mary’s 5K Duals.
Five seconds after Allen crossed the finish line, sophomore John Pope finished at 112th.
The other finishers included:
• Ryan Williams, senior, 144th, 25:49;
• Mark Leininger, junior, 152nd, 25:50;
• C.J. Horvath, sophomore, 257th, 26:56;
• Ian Lutz, freshman, 274th, 27:15.
The team win on the men’s side went to the University of Oklahoma, with Georgetown University coming in second and Columbia University finishing third.
AU will be back in action Oct. 15, with the Patriot League Championships scheduled at the end of October in Bethlehem, Pa.
blasky@theeagleonline.com
