BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Cross Country team had the honor today of racing at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by the Lehigh University, an incredibly competitive meet that sees hundreds of teams across all NCAA Divisions ascend on Bethlehem for a full day of competition. The Falcons toed the line in the second race of four seeded college women's races, the White race, running a number of personal record times on the quick course alongside a handful of season best times. The Falcons posted their best top five total time so far this season, collectively running a time of 1:57.15 for an average time of 23:27, and placed 27th overall as a team in a field of 45 schools. The Falcons scored 784 points in White race within a massive field to finish as the second MAC team across all races, finishing adrift of LVC (17th place, 628 points) but gapping other conference rivals that participated from other races across the day. Ranked sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Region going into the race, the Falcons confirmed their ranking by finishing strongly ahead of Gettysburg (35th place, 899 points), ranked seventh in the region, as well as regional rival Dickinson (33rd place, 856 points). The Falcons benefited from a number of stellar performances on the day and will look to benefit from additional depth from other Falcons to perform as strongly as possible as the postseason approaches.

The Falcons will enjoy an off weekend from racing after three consecutive 8k efforts before returning to action on Saturday, October 18, for the Border Battle hosted by Rowan University. The entire team will return to action after only the top ten toed the line in today's race, promising a showcase of the Falcons' depth in their final race before the postseason begins.

Race Action
Ella Swayne finished as the top Falcon for the fourth time this season in as many races, running an enormous personal best time to stop the clock at 22:15.6. Swayne went out very quickly with an opening 5:53 mile and continued to pass competitors with a 5:57 split for the second mile. Swayne competed strongly in the second half of the race, just holding onto a top 50 spot as the finish line approached to place 50th overall. Swayne's time stood as a personal best by an incredible 48 seconds, denoting her incredible improvement since last season to serve as a strong first score for the Falcons.

Delaney Turk finished as the second Falcon across the line also for the fourth time this season, matching Swayne with a huge personal best behind a finishing time of 22:30.5. Turk began her first mile just behind Swayne with a 5:54 split before crossing through 2 miles with a time of 12:00. Turk ran even relative to the competition around her for the second half of her race, ultimately placing in 69th overall while achieving a lifetime best by a margin of 36 seconds. 

Madison Kimmel was the third Falcon to cross the line, running a season best time of 23:36.4 that improves on her time from the previous week by a single second. Kimmel began her race very cautiously with a group of teammates, crossing through the mile in a time of 6:21 alongside Kenzee Wiker, Emmie Battersby, Aubrey Yeager, and Clara Benner. Kimmel moved up very well throughout the rest of the race after her patient start, passing 60 competitors before hitting two miles in a time of 12:40, making her second mile quicker than her first. Kimmel passed a further 30 racers in the last three kilometers before finishing in 207th place overall. 

Kenzee Wiker was the next Falcon to finish in fourth amongst her teammates, running a personal best time of 24:15.2. Wiker came through the two-mile mark alongside Battersby after following Kimmel's surge during the second mile, splitting a time of 12:49. Wiker passed an additional seven racers over the last three kilometers to ultimately place 262nd, while Battersby followed her teammate across the line from a distance with a personal best time of 24:38.0. 

Samantha Mynio finished as the sixth Falcon on the day with a season best time of 24:50.1, a time just three seconds adrift of her personal best. Mynio came through the first mile with a time of 6:25, just off a large pack of Falcons ahead of her and ran consistently to arrive at the two mile mark with a time of 13:10. Mynio finished strong across the second half, passing 16 before the finish to place just outside of the top 300 in 307th

Clara Benner and Allison Keller were the last two Falcons to finish, running respective times of 25:08.7 and 25:45.7. Benner's time, fueled by a very quick opening two miles of 12:55, stands as a personal best by a margin of 31 seconds. Keller began her race in isolation from any teammates and competed strongly with those around her, finishing just outside of her season best. Aubrey Yeager also started the race for the Falcons with a strong opening mile and will look to toe the line again in two weeks' time.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will enjoy an off weekend from racing after three consecutive 8k efforts before returning to action on Saturday, October 18, for the Border Battle hosted by Rowan University. The entire team will return to action after only the top ten toed the line in today's race, promising a showcase of the Falcons' depth in their final race before the postseason begins.