BETHLEHEM, PA – The FGCU cross country teams capped off its weekend at the very competitive 45th annual Paul Short Run as the women turned in a 25th overall finish while the men placed 31st overall.

"The men's team qualified for the Elite Gold race, while the outcome was not what we wanted, we had a few newcomers step up which was good to see," said head coach Cassandra Goodson. We have a lot to learn from this experience. The women's team qualified for the Brown race. Overall the women helped each other when they were on the course, which we work on in practice. Both teams are very young and eager to get stronger as a team."

On the women's side, Carley Lutzow (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere HS)  turned in a dominant run, finishing third overall in a field of over 290 runners as the senior clocked in a 6k time of 21:25. The time was just 23 tenths of a second short of the first place overall runner. This was Lutzow's second race of the season – she opened up the 2018 slate capturing at first the FAU Invite nearly one month ago.

In total, the Eagles tallied 602 points to finish 25th out of the 43 teams who competed Saturday afternoon.

In the men's field, newcomer Lucas Kiprotich (Eldoret, Kenya/EKU/Concord HS) paced the Green and Blue in the 8k race, etching a time of 25:34. Not too far behind him was senior Ronny Greenup (Miami, Fla./FIU/Miami Sunset Senior HS) who crossed the finish line with a mark of 25:52. After five runners, the men collected 837 points, placing them 31st out of 41 squads in the field.

Lutzow's time today gave her another spot inside the FGCU record book among the top 6k results. Coming into today the senior held the No. 3 time (21:14.90) and now holds the No. 5 time. Meanwhile, Kiprotich also landed in the record books for top 8k times among FGCU sophomores as his mark put him fourth overall.

"It's always nice to see our teams improve our record books," added Goodson. Carley and Lucas both work very hard and care deeply about these teams. It's great to see their hard work pay off"

 WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
3 – Carley Lutzow: 21:25
125 – Emily O'Connor: 23:44
149 – Angela Cruz Gonzalez: 23:57
156 – Jillian Felton: 24:00
169 – Bridget Schoffman: 24:08
259 – Julia Filip: 25:22

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
90 – Lucas Kiprotich: 25:34
133 – Ronny Greenup: 25:52
179 – Boniface Mutai: 26:11
209 – Bryce Bell: 26:27
226 – Cole Pruim: 26:44
237 – Jan Figueroa: 26:53
251 – Austin Redondo: 27:08

UP NEXT
The Eagles will have about two weeks off before heading up to Tallahassee, FL to compete in the FSU Invitational. It will be the last regular season meet for FGCU before traveling to the Bronx, NY for the ASUN Championships which take place on Friday, Oct. 26.

FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of FGCU men's and women's cross country this season, follow us on Twitter @FGCU_XC and visit www.FGCUAthletics.com.

COACH GOODSON
FGCU is led by Cassandra Goodson, whose nine seasons at the helm have taken the Eagles from their humble beginnings to a competitive D-I program, highlighted by seven trips to the NCAA South Regional Championship. Every mark in the FGCU all-time record book has been etched during the Goodson era, as she has coached 18 ASUN All-Conference selections, the 2013 Female Conference Runner of the Year and two members of the NCAA South All-Region Team.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.