LOGAN, Utah – Utah State's men's and women's cross country teams will compete at the 51st annual Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh, on Friday, Oct. 3, at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

MEET INFORMATION
Paul Short Run
Date: Oct. 3, 2025
Start: Men's 8K @ 9 a.m.; Women's 6K @ 9:45 a.m. (MT)
Site: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Venue: Goodman Campus Cross Country Course
Live Results: Leone Timing
Schedule & Info: Meet Program
Course Maps: 6K and 8K Maps

DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY ARTIE GULDEN
"There will be some great competition with nationally ranked teams at Paul Short. It will give us a really good idea where both teams stand and how good we are."

"A big key to the races will be how the teams manage the first 2K. Having 400 athletes going off the starting line together can present some challenges that are impossible to replicate in practice, so our kids will need to deal with that crowd."

ABOUT PAUL SHORT
First held in 1969, the Paul Short Run has grown into a two-day event, drawing over 7,000 athletes from over 600 high schools and colleges across the country. In this year's College Gold races, both USU squads will face nationally ranked competition, with the men competing against No. 11 Syracuse, No. 28 Georgetown and No. 29 Harvard and the women facing No. 15 Penn State and No. 20 Georgetown.

Utah State has had tremendous success at this meet, winning three straight men's team titles from 2017-19 and a women's team title in 2017, while producing three men's individual champions (Dillon Maggard, 2017; Caleb Garnica, 2021; Camren Todd, 2024) and one women's individual champion (Alyssa Snyder, 2017). The Lehigh-hosted event has been a bellwether of success; each of the four Aggies to win an individual title went on to earn All-American honors that same season and three of the four squads to win the team title later qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

AGGIES IN THE POLLS
The Utah State women were ranked sixth in the Week 2 NCAA DI Cross Country Mountain Regional Rankings, while the men were ranked seventh. The Aggie women's team has been featured in every regional ranking since 2012, while the men have been ranked in every regional poll since 2016.

The men and women were each ranked fourth in the 2025 Mountain West Cross Country Preseason Polls. The Aggie women earned 85 poll points, ranking behind New Mexico (121), Boise State (111) and Colorado State (94). The men's team tied with Air Force with 57 points. New Mexico was picked first with 81 points, followed by Boise State (61) and Wyoming (60).

RUNNING IT BACK
USU's men's cross country team returns 11 runners from the 2024 squad, including five of the seven runners who helped the Aggies to a fourth-place finish and eventual nationals berth at the 2024 NCAA Mountain Regionals. An additional four runners on the roster competed during the 2025 track and field seasons. USU's returnees have combined for 12 MW weekly awards and 15 cross country postseason appearances over their careers. Graduate Logan Garnica earned second-team All-Mountain West honors and the NCAA Elite 90 Award during the 2024 cross country season.

On the women's side, 11 runners from the 2024 squad are making their return to the cross country course, with an additional returnee from the 2022 team. Junior Shelby Jensen, who earned first-team All-American honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, is one of five Aggie women, including senior Sarah Ellis and juniors Camilla McKinstry, Brianne Smith and Natalie Swain, who bring cross country postseason experience to the 2025 roster.

LAST MEET
Utah State's men's team finished first and the women's team claimed third place at the Utah-hosted Beehive Invitational at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City. Sophomore Joshua McKee won the individual title in the men's 7K race with a time of 21:18.47, leading the Aggie men to a team total of 28 points. Jensen finished in third place, second-best among all collegiate runners, with a time of 17:52.20 to pace the Aggie women to an overall score of 47 points.

FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow the Utah State cross country programs on X at USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on X at USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

-USU-