Guelph continues strong performance at 45th Annual Paul Short Invitational
The Guelph Gryphons cross-country team traveled to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. to compete in three events of the 45th Annual Paul Short Invitational: Gold Men’s 8K, Open Men’s 8K, and Gold Women’s 6K.
Coming off a highly successful 2017 campaign where Guelph’s men’s team earned a national title, as well as a fifth place for the women’s team, the Gryphons thus far have managed to carry that success into this year. Now, nationally ranked first and second in 2018, the team looked to continue its dominance in its first NCAA race of the season.
Men’s Team
Photo by Scott McLaughlin
The Guelph men’s team came into the race with the momentum of a first-place finish at the Western International Invitational the previous week. At Lehigh University, the men had another strong race, just missing the podium in the Gold Men’s 8K with a fourth-place team finish.
Leading the Gryphons was Mark Patton who finished fourth, as well as team captain Connor Black, who came in just behind him in fifth. Patton has had a very successful start to his season, as he was named the OUA Male Athlete of the Week for the week ending Sept. 23. His solid first place performance at Western not only helped to sustain the men’s national ranking as a team, but also set a course record in doing so.
Teammates Mostafa Elkurdy, Andrew Shepherd, Ben Workman, Logan Martineau, and Mitch Ubene all finished in the top 100 out of the 360 runners at Lehigh.
In the Open Men’s 8K race the Guelph men’s team continued its success with another fourth-place finish. Guelph’s top runner in this event was Noah Tinives, who came in seventh and led all Canadians in the race.
Closely behind Tinives were Nicholas Bannon, Brady Graves, Jack Cooper, David Poloni, John Perrier, and Cameron Bates, all representing the Gryphons proudly with top-100 finishes of their own.
Women’s Team
Photo courtesy of Gryphons.ca
In the Gold Women’s 6K race, the Gryphons put together a strong team effort against tough Division 1 competition. The team was anchored by Danielle Jossinet and Hannah Woodhouse, who finished 41st and 44th respectively. Following these two, Dana Earhart, Emma Hubbard, Sadie-Jane Hickson, Sarah Wismer, and Charlotte Ward put on strong performances of their own, amassing enough points for an eighth-place finish for the women’s team.
Following the race, team captain Charlotte Ward commented on the progress of the team going into the new season: “We’ve gotten some more experience under our belts in the past year and after a strong 2018 indoor season, the women’s team has really improved and we had some strong performances in Lehigh this past weekend. In particular, Danielle Jossinet, Hannah Woodhouse, and Dana Earhart all had some standout performances.” When asked about what she hoped for this season, Ward responded, “My goal this season is just to help my team come away with a national title and to support the women’s team in any way I can.”
Following the successful weekend in Pennsylvania, the Gryphons will try to maintain their forward momentum in two weeks at the Texas A&M Arturo Barrios Invitational.
With less than a month until the OUA Championships, the Gryphons hope to have some solid finishes behind them to propel them to gold and another national title.
Photo by Scott McLaughlin