Hayden Hunt had a solid showing in Friday’s prestigious Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University. Ten Shippensburg University Raiders competed in the elite “Gold” 8K race and four Raiders took part in the open 8K.
The Raiders were one of two Division II teams to compete in the elite Gold race.
READ: SU cross country: Hunt was top runner in Saturday meet
Shattering collegiate bests
Toeing the line in a Division I-laden field, Hayden Hunt (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area) paced the Raiders. Hunt, the reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Athlete of the Week, ran 25:09 for a solid showing. He has served as the No. 1 runner for SU in all four of its races this season.
Junior Chayce Macknair (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) was the team’s No. 2 runner. Macknair, running for just the second time this season, posted a new collegiate cross country PR of 25:31 in his first 8K since the 2019 season. By comparison, Macknair ran 25:48 at the 2019 Paul Short Run to establish his previous 8K collegiate best.
Aiden Gonder (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Red Land) ran 25:43 to serve as the team’s No. 3 runner. Junior Drew Dailey (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) shattered his 8K collegiate best by nearly a full minute, running 25:49. By comparison, Dailey posted a time of 26:48 at the 2019 Paul Short Run.
Freshman Jacob Mavretic (Millersburg, Pa./Millersburg) impressed as the team’s No. 5 runner, rounding out the Raider scorers with a time of 26:04.
Sophomore Ian Sherlock (Hopewell, Pa./Northern Bedford County) finished in 26:20, and junior Kevin Wagner (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West) crossed the finish line in 26:27 to mark a five-second improvement to his collegiate 8K best set at the 2019 Paul Short Run.
Freshman Mitchell Brett (Lenhartsville, Pa./Kutztown) posted a time of 26:33; junior Alexander Ermold (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) ran 26:44, and senior Nate Kaplon (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) ran 27:45.
Collegiate cross country
For half the Raider field (Hunt, Gonder, Mavretic, Sherlock and Brett), the Gold race marked just the second time completing a collegiate cross country 8K.
Shippensburg was one of just two Division II teams in the Gold race and placed 37th out of 40 teams. Adams State, ranked No. 3 in the nation, placed seventh in the team standings. The North Carolina Tarheels edged the Villanova Wildcats by one point to claim the race title.
The day began with the men’s Open 8K, with a highlight being a huge collegiate best for junior Nathan Harding (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin). He was the fastest of four Raiders in the 380-person field, placing 158th with a time of 26:56.9. It’s a PR of 45 seconds from his previous fastest 8K that was achieved at the 2019 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. Junior Cole Harris (York, Pa./Central York) also posted a drastic improvement to his collegiate 8K best, running 27:00.8. Both men posted times of 28 minutes in their last go around at Paul Short in 2019.
Freshmen Jake Lawson (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) and Eian Butler (Elkridge, Md./Howard) rounded out the SU competitors in the Open race, posting respective times of 27:38 and 27:47.
What’s next
Shippensburg will now train for the next three weeks in advance of the 2021 PSAC Men’s Cross Country Championships, to be held Friday, Oct. 22 at Kutztown University.
Gold Race (8K)
37th place, 1007 points
152. Hayden Hunt 25:09.9
207. Chayce Macknair 25:31.1
240. Aiden Gonder 25:43.1
253. Drew Dailey 25:49.1
281. Jacob Mavretic 26:04.4
302. Ian Sherlock 26:20.2
312. Kevin Wagner 26:27.5
319. Mitchell Brett 26:33.8
328. Alexander Ermold 26:44.1
350. Nate Kaplon 27:45.7
Â
Open Race (8K)
158. Nathan Harding 26:56.9
167. Cole Harris 27:00.8
217. Jake Lawson 27:38.0
233. Eian Butler 27:47.7
