BETHLEHEM, Pa.--The Keene State College women's cross country team had an excellent showing at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University on Friday.

The Owls were the highest finishing Division III school, placing eighth overall out of 45 teams.  The only schools to finish ahead of KSC were Division I St. Joseph's, Binghamton, Tulane, Columbia, and Penn, and Division II Bloomsburg.

Senior Samantha Goldsmith paced the Owls, finishing 32nd in a field of 387 runners in 22:13.  Classmate Kait Wheeler was in 37th place in 22:16, while junior Carli Davis was in 44th in 22:22.  Lindsay Szuch was in 58th place in 22:35, followed by Molly Schaefer (163rd, 23:29), Katelyn Terry (176th, 23:37), and Katharine Lynch (254, 24:28).

The KSC men finished 27th out of 39 teams, led by senior Hayden Patterson, who was 67th overall out of 354 runners, in 25:43.  Sophomore Phillip Parent was 111th in 26:03, and freshman Matt Marchand was in 165th in 26:32.  Rounding out the Owl contingent were freshman Iid Sheikh-Yusuf (179th, 26:38), Mark Rabasco (190th, 26:49), Ben Macdonald (218th, 27:10), and Matt Dudley (256th, 28:10).

The Owls return to the races on October 10 at the Open New England Championships at Franklin Park in Roxbury, Mass.