No. 23 Cross Country Men Headed For Paul Short Run

The UNC men's cross country team will compete on Friday at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa., taking on a field of 39 other teams in the Tar Heels' largest race of the season so far.

Celebrating its 47^th year of competition, the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University, is one of the largest intercollegiate races in the country. The meet is run on the Murray H. Goodman Campus course, which was the site of the 1979 national championship meet.

The Tar Heels will race in the Men's Gold 8K, which starts at 11 a.m. For live results, click here.

"This is one of the best courses in the country," said Chris Miltenberg, UNC's Director of Track & Field/Cross-Country. "I don't want to say it's an easy course but it is a far less challenging than the one we ran at WakeMed."

In their last meet, on Sept. 17, the Carolina men won the Adidas XC Challenge, hosted by NC State at the WakeMed Soccer Park course in Cary, N.C. The team opened the season on Sept. 3 by winning a head-to-head meet with Charlotte. After that win, Tar Heels climbed into the USTFCCCA national rankings for the first time since 2015, and they're currently at No. 23 with their sights set on even more success.

"Our goal this year is to advance to the NCAA Championships," Miltenberg said. "The race this weekend will be a good measuring stick for how the men match up against some of the best teams outside of their region including Villanova, Utah State and Iona, all of which are top teams in their respective regions."

Twelve runners will represent the Tar Heels on Friday: Jack Aho, Will Coogan, Tommy Gaffey, Crawford Hope, Jesse Hunt, Andrew Lauer, Michael Spragley, Ethan Strand, John Tatter, Jason Thomson, Marshall Williamson and Parker Wolfe.

After the Paul Short Run, the Carolina men travel to Madison, Wisc., on Oct. 15 for the Nuttycombe Invitational, while the women compete the same day at the FSU XC Invite in Tallahassee, Fla.

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Players Mentioned

Jack Aho

Will Coogan

Tommy Gaffey

Crawford Hope

Jesse Hunt

Andrew Lauer

Michael Spragley

Ethan Strand

John Tatter

Jason Thomson

Marshall Williamson

Parker Wolfe