Complete Results:  Men  l  Women

Watch: Fezza and Koch discuss the Paul Short Run

BETHLEHEM – Senior Frank Fezza won the men's “Brown Division” race, besting a field of 283 runners which included 14 Division I programs, at the prestigious Paul Short Run presented by Brooks on Friday at the Goodman Campus of Lehigh University.

Fezza ran 25:03 on the 8K course, two seconds ahead of Stony Brook sophomore Eric Speakman and 15 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher, to lead an impressive day for the Warriors' program.

The men were fourth in a field of 33 teams as the top Division II finisher, placing ahead of 11 Division I schools and PSAC rival Shippensburg. ESU entered the meet ranked 23rd in DII.

The women were led by seniors Corinne Fitzgerald and Rose Mascoli, who were fifth and sixth in a field of 342 runners. ESU was 11th of 39 schools and finished ahead of nine of the 12 Division I schools in the field.

Fezza, who won the individual title at Fordham and was second at Kutztown in the first two weekends of the season, came back after a 13-day layoff to earn ESU's first-ever Paul Short Run title. He broke away from the pack with Penn's Brendan Smith with a mile to go, then dropped Smith before holding off Speakman at the finish. ESU's previous course record, before Fezza's 25:03, was 26:17 by James Coomber in 2003.

The Warriors' second through fifth runners came home within 18 seconds of each other to help secure top honors for Division II schools. Sophomore Chris Schneider was 36th in 26:11. Senior Jim Romano was 41st (26:17), senior Amr Aldeen 46th (26:21) and senior Mike Pereira 62nd (26:29).

Fitzgerald and Mascoli, both NCAA qualifiers in their careers, were part of a strong showing for PSAC runners in the women's “Brown” race. The conference had four of the top seven finishers, with Bloomsburg's Vickie Davis first and West Chester's Amanda Eisman seventh.

Fitzgerald ran 22:09 followed by Mascoli in 22:14. Junior Kim Wernerspach was 54th (23:17), junior Kim Lowry was 160th (24:26) and freshman Chelsea Conover was 168th (24:32).

The meet is split into three races for both the men's and women's divisions – Gold, Brown and White. In the men's Gold, Lock Haven was 24th of 37 schools led by Alex Monroe, who ran 24:30. Shippensburg's women were 17th of 40 in that Gold race, paced by Katie Spratford in 20:58. More than 6,000 college and high school runners were expected to compete in all.

The Warriors head to upstate New York next Saturday for the Hamilton College Invitational, their last competition before the PSAC Championships on October 20 at Slippery Rock.


ESU Men's Results (field of 283)
1. Frank Fezza – 25:03
36. Chris Schneider – 26:11
41. Jim Romano – 26:17
46. Amr Aldeen – 26:21
62. Mike Pereira – 26:29

Men's Top 5 (33 schools)
1. Penn – 47
2. Canisius – 167
3. Stony Brook – 182
4. ESU – 186
5. SUNY Cortland – 191


ESU Women's Results (field of 342)
5. Corinne Fitzgerald – 22:09
6. Rose Mascoli – 22:14
54. Kim Wernerspach – 23:17
160. Kim Lowry – 24:26
168. Chelsea Conover – 24:32