Oct. 7, 2000

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Senior Jon Smolenski (Manor, Pa./Hempfield) led the way for the Lafayette men's cross country team, finishing 52nd in a 240-runner field at the Paul Short Invitational on Saturday.

Smolenski ran the course in 25:44 to help Lafayette to a 30th place finish in the 36-team field.

Junior Jason Lewis (North Powder, Ore./Powder Alley) was the Leopards' second finisher, ending in 175th. Freshmen Carlos Garcia (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) and Reginald Clay (Columbus, Ga./Columbus) and sophomore Andrew Rogers (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) rounded out Lafayette's top five in 204th, 214th and 219th places, respectively. Regretfully, individual times for places 151 through 240 were not available at the time of posting.

Villanova's Adrian Blincoe turned in the top time of the day with a 24:08, leading his team to a 9th place finish. Michigan State recorded the top team score of 65 with its top five places being 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th and 26th.

"It's been a tough year for the cross country teams. Both teams have had injuries that have really hurt our ability to compete," said head coach Julio Piazza.

"One of the things that has been sustaining for me throughout this season is that none of the kids that have been healthy have been using the team's injuries as an excuse to give less than 100 percent. That's been reflected in the times that the teams have been running. Jon Smolenski improved by 10 seconds. Carlos Garcia improved by over a minute and Andy Rogers and Reggie Clay both improved by over 20 seconds."

"With all of the injuries, the silver lining is that the freshmen have been acquitting themselves admirably with that added pressure."

Lafayette returns to action Saturday when it hosts the Leopard Invitational at the Metzgar Fields course.