2025 Paul Short Run First Thoughts (Gold): Villanova Women & Georgetown Men Showcase Talent En Route to Team Wins

The Paul Short Run, a meet hosted by Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, is an invitational that is near and dear to my heart. While it is best known for its collegiate races and massive fields, the Paul Short Run also features a high school race that I was once lucky enough to annually compete in.

Well over a decade later, the Paul Short Run continues to be a nationally competitive race. In fact, this year may have been the deepest that the college "Gold" race has been in recent memory!

Just like we did with the Loyola Lakefront Invite, let's break down the top-seven teams in the men's and women's "Gold" fields and see what insights we can pull...

Men's Analysis

1. Georgetown Hoyas (102 points)

If I'm the Georgetown men, then I am very happy with this result.

This was arguably the deepest men's field that I can remember seeing for the "Gold" race at the Paul Short Run. And after losing a handful of crucial names from last fall, I thought the Hoyas would struggle to find firepower in 2025.

Yet, despite all of that, Georgetown came out on top by just over 20 points on Friday. That, of course, was largely due to the breakout performance of Birhanu Harriman (2nd) and the introduction of graduate transfer, MacCallum Rowe (5th). However, an unexpectedly great race from rookie Quinn Parrish (12th) and a solid enough result from Luke Johnson (23rd) is what gave the Hoyas a top-four that was flat-out better than anything that their competition could put together.

The challenge, of course, was the team's fifth man who faded all the way back to 60th place, causing Georgetown's team score to inflate. Sure, that didn't matter in the end, but in a similarly sized field with far stronger competition, that backend gap could be exploited.

Even so, Coach Brandon Bonsey deserves major kudos. An automatic national qualifying spot out of the Mid-Atlantic region looks plenty doable this year with Villanova struggling on Friday.

2. Utah State Aggies (123 points)

Seeing Joshua McKee (8th) step up on Friday felt significant for a Utah State team that lost a few key names from last year's lineup.

Behind him, Garrett Woodhouse (17th) acted as a great bridge to the team's final three scorers. Those latter three men -- Josh Armstrong, Jed Megargel and Logan Garnica -- went 29-32-37, respectively. Sure, it wasn't the most exciting backend group, but they were plenty stable and that was what ultimately allowed them to stay competitive.

However, maybe the most exciting part in all of this for the Aggies is that Garnica, an 8:33 steeplechaser, can likely be better in the future. You could maybe even argue the same thing for sixth man, Michael Maiorano.

I'll admit, I questioned whether USU could realistically contend for another spot to this year's NCAA XC Championships. Of course, after seeing how they fared on Friday, that scenario feels increasingly more probable.

3. Texas A&M Aggies (137 points)

Slowly but surely, the Texas A&M men are becoming a quietly solid long distance team. We saw them showcase plenty of improvement last year and in 2025, it looks like they are continuing that trend.

The Aggies were led by star miler Cooper Cawthra (4th) who was shockingly great despite stepping up in distance. We also have to give major kudos to Jack Johnston (10th), someone who acted as a surprise secondary low-stick in this race.

However, maybe the craziest part is that Texas A&M's top low-stick didn't even run well...at all. I am, of course, talking about Victor Kibiego, a steeplechase star who faded all the way back to 38th place. Remember, he's run 8:25 over the barriers and water pits before and was 44th at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships.

Admittedly, Kibiego has struggled with consistency since venturing to College Station, something that was again on display this past Friday. However, if this Kenyan distance star can return to top form, then Texas A&M becomes far scarier than we initially suspected.

Thankfully for the Aggies, Youssef Asslouj (39th) and Carter Gordy (46th) kept the backend portion of this scoring group in check. With two true low-sticks and a stable enough supporting cast, it was hard to find a flaw in this performance for a program that is mostly known for their middle distance success.

4. Harvard Crimson (147 points)

This may look like an ugly result on paper, but the more you dive into the results, the more understandable it becomes.

On Friday, the Harvard men didn't field veteran low-stick Shane Brosnan, 8:51 steeplechaser Will Brunner or NCAA 1500-meter bronze medalist Ferenc Kovacs. And of the men who did race, the trio of Sam Burgess (1st), Tam Gavenas (3rd) and Charlie Ortmans (9th) looked flat-out incredible.

Those three men gave the Crimson the best firepower in the field.

Now, admittedly, the backend of this lineup wasn't pretty. While Ben Bouie (35th) was serviceable at the fourth spot in this lineup, seeing the team's fifth man fade to 103rd place feels like a cause for concern. Thankfully, Harvard can take solace in knowing that they will be better in the future.

In theory, the return of Brosnan chops off a MASSIVE amount of points in favor of Harvard. Had he run, then the Crimson almost certainly secure team gold. And while both Brunner and Kovcas aren't necessarily high-impact names, they should offer greater depth when they return.

So sure, Harvard may have faded to 4th place on Friday, but in the grand scheme of things, they actually fared quite well.

5. Wingate Bulldogs (181 points)

This is roughly what we expected from the Wingate men, a team that will realistically be gunning for the Division Two national title this fall.

Truthfully, I would like to say more about Joaquin Campos (16th), Antonin Saint Peyre (25th), Luca Poppe (31st), Arthur Faroux (51st) and Alex Durant (58th). But for as good as those results are, I can only shrug my shoulders and say, "Yeah, that seems about right."

It's important not to take my lack of surprise for being unimpressed -- the Bulldogs simply validated the idea that they can still contend for D2 gold in November. It will be harder to do than last year, but it's still plenty possible.

Quick Hits

6. Penn State Nittany Lions (192 points)

It's not often that we talk about the Penn State men during the cross country season, but they had a solid outing on Friday. Brian DiCola (14th) and Nick Sloff (19th) look like two decent lead scorers and it helps that they had all five of their scorers inside of the top-70. With a year of development, this could be a sneaky-good team in 2026.

7. Navy Midshipmen (198 points)

They didn't have anyone crack the top-20, but they did put all five of their scorers in the top-70. The idea of Navy qualifying for this year's national meet feels unlikely, but it's not impossible if they have an especially good day at the Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Championships like they did last year.

8. Villanova Wildcats (226 points)

This was an ugly, ugly day for the Villanova men. Sure, Charlie Moore (7th) was great and CJ Sullivan (13th) was solid, but Bailey Habler (55th) struggled quite a bit. Plus, the team's fifth man faded all the way back to 97th place. The Wildcats will be better in the future, but they need a large handful of names to step up at their next outing if they want to stay in the mix for a national qualifying spot.

Women's Analysis

1. Villanova Wildcats (110 points)

Wow, this was an AWESOME win for the Villanova women. And no, it's not just because they took down two ranked teams in Penn State and Georgetown.

The Wildcat trio of Margaret Carroll, Tilly O'Connor and Nicole Vanasse were incredibly formidable. Those three women went 3-6-9, respectively, in the final results, giving Villanova way more firepower than we expected to see out of them.

The team's fourth scorer, Rosemary Shay (31st), was solid enough. And while the Wildcats' fifth runner did fade all the way back to 61st place, the team's overall firepower was able to negate that backend gap.

However, the reason why I'm excited for Villanova isn't just because they took down Penn State and Georgetown with three top-10 women -- it's because they did that without one of the single-best distance runners in the entire NCAA.

The Wildcats didn't field veteran star Sadie Sigfstead on Friday, someone who could have won the individual title at Paul Short. And if she did race, then Villanova wouldn't have just won, they would have DOMINATED.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am so high on the ladies from the Mainline right now.

2. Penn State Nittany Lions (115 points)

Yes, it's true, Penn State faded to 2nd place on Friday, beating a ranked Georgetown team, but falling to a Villanova squad that didn't have their best runner.

Of course, when you realize that the Nittany Lions didn't have their focal ace either (Florence Caron), then the five-point margin between them and the Wildcats becomes much more understandable.

In the grand scheme of things, Penn State actually ran fairly well. Despite concerns about their supporting cast entering this season, the trio of Ada Rand (15th), Claire Daniels (17th) and Charlotte Costich (18th) offered strong scoring value and decent stability. Katie Dallas (28th) stayed within reasonable striking distance of that group while Lea Hatcher (37th) was solid enough.

Sure, we'll admit, the Nittany Lions were far from flashy on Friday. They didn't have a true low-stick in the wake of Caron's absence and even if she did run, Villanova would have easily pulled away from Penn State if Sigfstead had toed the line.

Even so, an improved supporting cast and a win over a solid Georgetown team should leave us generally encouraged about the ladies of Happy Valley moving forward.

3. Georgetown Hoyas (143 points)

An individual win for Melissa Riggins was great to see, especially given some of the inconsistencies that she's had over the last year of racing. Her potent result was paired with Barrett Justema (7th) who offered a fringe low-stick performance of her own.

With Charlotte Tomkinson (14th) also having a great day, the Hoyas' 1-2-3 punch wasn't far off from what Villanova had. Not only that, but redshirt rookie Charlotte Bell (32nd) was a respectable fourth scorer as well, again matching the Wildcats relatively well.

Now, admittedly, the team's fifth runner faded all the way back to 89th place, forcing Georgetown to drop in the team standings behind Villanova and Penn State. That is a concerning development given that both of those teams didn't have their low-stick stars.

The catch, however, is that the Hoyas didn't have two key names of their own.

Almi Nerukar is a 15:45 (5k) runner who placed 48th at the Nuttycombe Invite and 110th at the NCAA XC Championships last fall. Meanwhile, Emma Zawatski, a former high school standout who transferred from Colorado, also didn't race. She could be a sneaky-good name this season if she ends up competing.

Sure, maybe Georgetown isn't quite worthy of a TSR #14 ranking like we initially thought. Even so, they're still a nationally competitive squad and they'll have the opportunity to be better later this fall.

4. Texas A&M Aggies (172 points)

Solid outing for the Texas A&M women! The Aggies were far from perfect on Friday, but they held their own and had a fairly solid top-three.

Megan Roberts (11th) was a pleasant surprise, although we probably should have seen a result like that coming after she ran 33:21 for 10,000 meters this past spring. Meanwhile, steeplechase standout Debora Cherono (13th) had a decent race while teammate Joyce Kemboi (22nd) gave the Texas A&M women a fairly complete trio of lead scorers.

Yes, it's true, the drop-off to the Aggies' final two scorers, who placed 58th and 68th, was glaring. Even so, Texas A&M doesn't need to drop jaws or produce Earth-shaking performances.

When it comes to the 2025 cross country season, the women from College Station simply need to do enough to earn a second automatic qualifying spot out of the South Central region (presumably behind Arkansas). And while the race for that second spot will be tight, it should still be within reach for the Aggies after seeing how they performed on Friday.

5. Utah State Aggies (214 points)

It wasn't the most exciting performance, but I thought the Utah State women held their own on Friday.

Natalie Swain, Shelby Jensen, Sarah Ellis and Caroline Moon went 16-27-34-54, respectively. Their fifth scorer faded back to 83rd place, but at this point in the team standings, that isn't necessarily a crushing result.

Do I think the USU women will qualify for the national meet this year? No, not necessarily. It's possible if they get the benefit for a "push" scenario, but there is still a good bit of development that we need to see if that is going to happen.

Even so, Coach Artie Gulden deserves a good bit of kudos for consistently keeping his men's and women's team relatively competitive on an annual basis -- and Friday was another example of that.

Quick Hits

6. UConn Huskies (241 points)

For a team that lost A LOT of scoring value from last year's lineup, I thought a 6th place finish on Friday was fairly respectable. Freshman Brooke Strauss (24th) showed promise and all five of their scorers cracked the top-75. They won't qualify for the national meet this year, but they have a strong nucleus that they can build around for next fall.

7. Bowling Green Falcons (246 points)

This was surprisingly great day for the Bowling Green women when you look at their lineup structure. Usually, mid-major programs like this are carried by one or two individual stars. However, the Falcons were able to get by with a complete scoring group that went 29-48-50-53-66. Keep an eye on this team once we near the Mid-American XC Championships.

8. Penn Quakers (282 points)

It wasn't a great performance for Penn, but the good news is that 10k star Lily Murphy is seemingly back and nearing top form! Her 10th place finish was a step in the right direction after barely racing at all over the last year.