EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette hosted Lehigh for the annual rivalry meet at Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex on Friday evening. Juniors Kendall Collier and Anya Kazemi were the top finishers for the women, securing second- and third-place, respectively, while freshman Hudson Schunk led the men in sixth. The Mountain Hawks captured the win for the women, 30-27, and men, 44-15.

For the women, Collier reeled in second with a final time of 21:36.1. Kazemi and senior Ava Severino followed behind in third and fourth, finishing in 21:42.5 and 22:01.7. Senior Bridget Shaver and freshman Grace Houlihan rounded out the Leopards' top-five finishers with times of 22:40.3 and 22:52.3.

"Our women should be extremely proud of themselves for making the dual meet so much more competitive over the past two years," Associate Head Coach Anthony Dentino acknowledged. "We have truly closed the gap on Lehigh, and while a three-point loss is agonizingly close, Lehigh had an excellent meet. None of that takes away from the massive steps forward we have taken as a program however, and in particular, our top four women today were phenomenal. Kendall, Anya, Ava, and Bridget really rose to the challenge of the dual meet today."

On the men's side, Schunk snagged a sixth-place finish with a final time of 25:29.6. Following closely behind were juniors Alec Miner and Cole Scattergood, earning seventh (25:43.0) and eighth (25:47.4), respectively. Closing out the top five were junior David Whitford (25:50.6) and freshman Evan Reidinger (25:58.0).

"While we ultimately came up short, our men ran well today and had a strong pack and competed the whole race," Dentino said. "Placing five men under the 26-minute barrier is a nice step in the right direction for a very young group, and we are pleased with the growth our program has shown."

Kaitlyn Highduch and Jason Baker, both placing first overall, were the Mountain Hawks' top finishers of the evening.

The Maroon and White will next compete in the Aubrey Shenk Invitational at Gettysburg College on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m.
 

For the latest on the Lafayette cross country programs, follow the Leopards on Instagram @lafcoltf and X @lafayetteTF.