LOGAN, Utah – Utah State cross country is set to compete at the 47th-annual Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run, presented by Asics, on Friday, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the premiere cross country meet in the country is back. This year's run features several hundred teams and more than 4,000 total runners.

The first race of the day on the Goodwill Campus Cross Country Course will begin at 7:30 a.m. (MT).

Scheduled to compete for the 16th-ranked Utah State men in the 8K Gold Race include grad senior Connor Weaver, seniors Haydon Cooper, Mark Crandall, Caleb Garnica, Darren Harman and Roberto Porras, juniors Bridger Altice, Spencer Nelson and Camren Todd, and freshman Walker Cole.

Three other nationally-ranked men's programs will join the Aggies, as No. 12 Iona, North Carolina and Villanova, both of which are tied at No. 23. On the women's side, USU will compete against two nationally-ranked programs in No. 12 North Carolina and No. 15 Georgetown.

Utah State captured the men's team title at the 2019 Paul Short Run, marking the third-consecutive year the Aggies earned the team title at the event. In a field of 44 teams, including three nationally-ranked programs, USU won the title with 49 points – 95 better than second-place Penn.

After winning the race in 2017 and 2018, Utah State became just the third team in the race's 46-year history to ever win three-consecutive men's team titles.

Garnica (18th; 23:51.0), Cooper (59th; 24:17.4) and Porras (72nd; 24:23.3) all competed in that race for the Aggies.

Competing for Utah State in the women's 6K Gold Race on Friday will be seniors Katie Haviland, Mica Rivera and Madison Taylor, juniors Bailey Brinkerhoff, Abigail Gray and Abby Jensen, sophomore Morgan French, and freshmen Karlee Christensen, Kaybree Christensen and Emma Thornley.

Several Aggies will also be competing in the men's 8K Open Race (sophomore Max Wehrli and freshman Will Dixon) and women's 6K Open Race (junior Megan Terry and freshman Camilla McKinstry).

For more information on the Utah State track & field/cross country programs, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC.

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