BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a two-week hiatus, the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's cross country team returned to action Friday afternoon (Oct. 3) at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University. St. Mary's College ran the Green 8K course, finishing 25th in the 35-team field with 688 points.
 
Haskell Indian Nations University claimed the team trophy as Haskell tallied 83 points with four of their five scorers coming in the Top 20. Derick Blair of Susquehanna University took home the top individual honor as Blair crossed the finish line in 25:18.8.
 
How It Happened

• Senior Kelly Byrne (Rockville, Md./Rockville) paced the Seahawks Friday afternoon as the team's first finisher. Byrne completed the course with a personal-best 27:30.8 for 51st place out of 317 runners, marking the first time this season that he was SMCM's top scorer.
• First-year Brandon Smoot (Hanover, Md./DeMatha) came in over a minute after Byrne, placing 128th with a personal-best 28:50.6 after moving up 29 spots over the final 2K.
• Sophomore Blake Carberry (Pylesville, Md./North Harford) was the team's third scorer as Carberry finished 182nd with a personal-best 29:37.4.
• Junior Noah Fisher (Union Bridge, Md./Francis Scott Key) crossed the finish line fourth for St. Mary's College for the third straight race, notching a 226th-place finish in 30:33.8. Fisher missed a PR by 24 seconds but did climb six spots over the final 2K.
• Rounding out the top-five scorers was sophomore Jack Kuta (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown), who contributed points for the third consecutive race. Kuta crossed the finish line in 31:00.0 for 241st after making a three-spot jump.
• First-years Cooper Breakey (Hampstead, Md./Manchester Valley) and Austen Specht (Lutherville, Md./Towson) both registered personal-bests as Breakey clocked a 33:35.3 and Specht posted a 37:09.5. Both moved at least six spots up in the standings over the final 2K.

 
Up Next for the Seahawks

• Oct. 18 at Aubrey Shenk Invitational – Gettysburg, Pa. (Gettysburg College) – 10 am

 
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