BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lafayette cross country team continued its season today at the biggest meet yet, the Patriot League Championships. The men finished third out of nine teams with a total score of 73, while the women finished fourth out of nine teams with a total score of 123.

The third-place finish from the men is the highest since their third-place finish  in 1998. The fourth-place finish from the women's team is the highest since its third-place finish in 1997.

On the men's side, senior Ryan Branch had one of his best performance as a Leopard. In a field of 64 runners, Branch finished sixth overall with a final time of 22:03.7 to lead Lafayette. Branch's finish landed First-Team All Patriot League status. The sixth-place finish is the highest in Lafayette team history, beating the former record held by Alex Wechsler of seventh place in 2007.

The Leopards were not done with their top-ten finishes, as sophomore Bobby Oehrlein crossed the finish time in 10th place in a final time of 22:16.4. This finish landed Oehrlein on the All Patriot League Second Team.

The Leopards displayed great pack running skills as the next three finishers were within almost three seconds of each other. Leading the way here was junior Austin Barry, finishing 18th in a final time of 22:41.7. A little less than two seconds later, junior Brian Clayton crossed the finish line in 22:43.6, good enough for 19th place. Rounding out the top five was senior Michael Neeson, finishing 20th in a time of 22:44.4

Closing out the efforts on the men's side were junior Jesse Schmeizer (35th, 23:33.6), freshman Sean Hamilton (54th, 25:01.2) and sophomore Andrew Massaro (64th, 28:21.6).

"The men went to work today," said assistant coach Michael DuPaul. They were methodical and poised. We set a very ambitious goal to place third and we were not going to back down. I'm so happy for them."

Army junior Marshall Beatty won the event, crossing the finish line in a time of 21:46.8.

On the women's side, senior Ainsley Jacobs lead the way with a strong performance. Jacobs finished eighth in the field of 70 runners in a time of 20:16.1. This finish from Jacobs landed her on the All Patriot-League Second Team. The eighth-place finish is the second best in Lafayette team history, just behind Sarah Welsh-Huggins finishing fourth in 2011. 

After Jacobs, a trio of sophomores led the way for the Leopards. In 21st place was Becky Hartman in a time of 20:54.2. Not even a second behind Hartman was Rachel Hurley, finishing 22nd in a time of 20:45.3. Just five seconds after Hurley's finish was Dannah Javens, finishing 23rd in a final time of 20:59.6. The Leopards showed off their great pack running skills to gain some extremely valuable points on their fourth-place finish.

Rounding out the top five scorers was freshman Mikayla Randall, finishing 52nd in the race in a time of 22:12. Closing out the efforts on the women's side were freshman Emma Lorey (57th, 22:35.3), senior Liv Palma (62nd, 23:09) and junior Cassandra Wilk (69th, 24:35).

"The women were without two of our top runners, but everybody stepped up in an incredible way today," DuPaul said. They ran a very smart, brave race. I was extremely proud of their courage today on the course."

Bucknell junior Ashlyn Ramos, crossing the finish line in a time of 19:34.7 to claim the overall title.