WASHINGTON – Georgetown University's nationally ranked men's and women's cross country teams concluded competition at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Friday. The men took first in the Gold 8K at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus Cross Country Course, while the women placed third in the Gold 6K, led by Melissa Riggins, who captured the individual title in the women's race.

ON THE RECORD
"I was really proud of the effort of the men's team today. Our top five were great. Birhanu almost got the individual win, and Mac was only two seconds back. Quinn is a freshman eligibility-wise, and I want to point out how much his improvement helps our team. Luke is an experienced runner who didn't know he had XC eligibility until recently. He will get far better throughout the season. Edwin is primarily a middle-distance runner, but he really stepped up today. We have a lot of things to work on but today showed that we have the potential to be a great team." -Men's Cross Country Head Coach Brandon Bonsey
 
"It was a fun day of competition especially against some of our regional counterparts; based on what we saw today, the championship season will be very hotly contested once everyone rolls out their full lineups. We had several highlights on the day starting with Riggins; she has had a really challenging last year, so to see her excited, healthy and running at the front and ultimately winning was a big boost. Justema continues to build momentum and went by some strong runners in the last third of the race to put a second athlete in the top seven. Tomkinson raced well despite having a rocky final third, and Bell worked through tough moments to land as our fourth, showing big steps forward in her second year but freshman XC season. Freshman Bennett produced strong sections and closed out our scoring; she's making great progress transitioning up in distance." -Women's Cross Country Head Coach Mitchell Baker

MEN- GOLD 8K

• Birhanu Harriman led a trio of Hoyas in the top 15, finishing second and posting a time of 23:19.2.
• MacCallum Rowe (5th) crossed the finish line two seconds after Harriman, followed by Quinn Parrish (12th), Luke Johnson (23rd), and Edwin Klanke (60th).
• GU Point Scorers: Birhanu Harriman, 23:19.2 [1]; MacCallum Rowe, 23:21.3 [5]; Quinn Parrish, 23:30.3 [12]; Luke Johnson, 23:47.3 [23]; Edwin Klanke, 24:11.1 [60]
• Team Results (Top Five): 1. Georgetown, 102; 2. Utah State,123; 3. Texas A&M, 137; 4. Harvard, 147; 5. Wingate, 181

 
WOMEN- GOLD 6K

• Georgetown's Melissa Riggins won the Women's Gold 6K, dominating the field with a time of 19:34.8.
• Barrett Justema (7th), Charlotte Tomkinson (14th), Charlotte Bell (32nd), and Emma Bennett (89th) completed the top five for the Hoyas.
• GU Point Scorers: Melissa Riggins, 19:34.8. [1]; Barrett Justema, 19:55.8 [7]; Charlotte Tomkinson, 20:07.5 [14]; Charlotte Bell 20:29.2 [32]; Emma Bennett 21:13.3 [89].
• Team Results (Top Five): 1. Villanova, 110; 2. Penn State,115; 3. Georgetown, 143; 4. Texas A&M, 172; 5. Utah State, 214

 
MEN - OPEN 8K

• Akshay Vadul finished in the top 35 with a time of 24:51.6 (35th).
• David Flaig took 76th with a time of 25:19.6.

 
WOMEN - OPEN 6K

• Mary Grace Hegberg, Mia Pasha, and Sally Binder each finished in the top 100, with Hegberg running an 22:20.4 (41st), Pasha recording a time of 22:34.8 (61st), and Binder finishing with a time of 22:40.8 (73rd).
• The Hoyas also had Emma Zawatski, who finished 106th with a time of 22:57.3, and Natalie McLean, who took 120th running a 23:08.8.

 
UP NEXT
The men's and women's cross country teams compete next at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday, October 17.