BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Utah State's men's cross country team finished runner-up, while the women's team placed fifth, at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Friday. Sophomore Joshua McKee led the USU men in the men's 8K Gold race with an eighth-place finish and junior Natalie Swain paced the Aggie women with her 16th-place finish in the women's 6K Gold race.
 
"I'm really happy with how both teams ran," said Artie Gulden, USU's director of track & field and cross country. "The men didn't get out super well, but were able to work their way up nicely throughout the race. Getting second with a high-quality field is something that we can really build on in the weeks moving forward."
 
The USU men claimed second place in the 8K Gold race with a total of 28 points, besting ranked opponents Syracuse (No. 11) and Harvard (No. 29). McKee led the way with his eighth-place time of 23:25.4, followed by sophomore Garrett Woodhouse's 17th-place finishing time of 23:32.4. Sophomores Joshua Armstrong and Jedidiah Megargel followed in close succession, placing 29th and 32nd with respective times of 23:51.4 and 23:52.5. Graduate Logan Garnica rounded out the Aggie scorers with his 37th-place time of 23:56.5. Utah State was the only team in the entire field to have each of its top-five runners place in the top 40, and its time spread of 31.1 seconds was the narrowest of any squad with a top-10 finisher. No. 28 Georgetown won the team title with 102 points, while Harvard's Sam Burgess won the individual title with a time of 23:18.6.
 
The Aggie women followed up with a fifth-place team finish in the 6K Gold race, earning 214 points. Junior Natalie Swain led the way for the Aggies with a 16th-place time of 20:14.8. Sophomore Shelby Jensen placed 27th with her time of 20:24.6 and senior Sarah Ellis clocked in at 20:31.4 to finish 34th. Junior Caroline Moon finished in 20:51.4 to place 54th and freshman Hailey Shakespear took 83rd place in her first career 6K race with a time of 21:10.2. No. 20 Georgetown's Melissa Riggins claimed the individual title with a time of 19:34.8, leading the Hoyas to a second-place team finish behind Villanova.
 
"The ladies ran very tough," said Gulden. "We got out super aggressively, which I haven't seen from them in a number of years. They paid for it a little bit at the end of the race but, like the men, this is a great race for us to build on moving forward."

USU runners also competed in the Open 6K and 8K races at the Lehigh-hosted Paul Short Run as well as in the women's 5K and men's 8K races at the Idaho State-hosted Bengal Invitational in Pocatello, Idaho. Sophomore Walker Cole led all of the Aggie entrants in the Open 8K race with an eighth-place time of 24:18.2. In Pocatello, junior Drew Hogan and sophomore John Simmons placed fifth and sixth in the men's 8K with respective times of 25:13 and 25:15, while freshman Chelsea Shakespear led the Aggie women in the 5K race with a 10th-place time of 18:42.

Utah State returns home to host their final home meet, the Steve T. Reeder Memorial Invitational, at Steve and Dona Reeder Cross Country Course on Friday, Oct. 10. The men's 7K race will start at 3 PM, to be followed by the women's 5K race at 3:45 PM. Admission is free to the public.
 
Fans can follow the Utah State cross country programs on X at USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on X at USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
 
PAUL SHORT RUN | October 3, 2025 | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Men's 8K Gold Race Team Results
1. No. 28 Georgetown – 2, 5, 12, 23, 60, (90), (100) – 102
2. UTAH STATE – 8, 17, 29, 32, 37, (42), (49) – 123
3. Texas A&M – 4, 10, 38, 39, 46, (133), (198) – 137
4. No. 29 Harvard – 1, 3, 9, 35, 99, (118), (123) – 147
5. Wingate – 16, 25, 31, 51, 58, (66), (86) – 181

Men's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Sam Burgess (Harvard) – 23:18.67; 2. Birhanu Harriman (Georgetown) – 23:19.2; 3. Tam Gavenas (Harvard) – 23:20.1; 4. Cooper Cawthra (Texas A&M) – 23:20.9; 5. MacCallum Rowe (Georgetown) – 23:21.3.
 
Utah State Men's Results: 8. Joshua McKee – 23:25.4; 17. Garrett Woodhouse – 23:32.4; 29. Joshua Armstrong – 23:51.4. 32. Jedidiah Megargel – 23:52.5; 37. Logan Garnica – 23:56.5; 42. Michael Amitava Maiorano – 23:58.3; 49. Joseph McKee – 24:01.9; 65. LJ Floyd – 24:12.7; 76. Jayden Holdsworth – 24:16.8; 78. Bryce Hill – 24:17.1.
 
Women's 6K Gold Race Team Results
1. Villanova – 3, 6, 9, 31, 61, (72), (90) – 110
2. No. 15 Penn State – 15, 17, 18, 28, 37, (42), (77) – 115
3. No. 20 Georgetown – 1, 7, 14, 32, 89, (104), (111) – 143
4. Texas A&M – 11, 13, 22, 58, 68, (71), (80) – 172
5. UTAH STATE – 16, 27, 34, 54, 83, (97), (108) – 214

Women's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Melissa Riggins (Georgetown) – 19:34.8; 2. Katie Blount (Elon) – 19:37.1; 3. Margaret Carroll (Villanova) – 19:38.3; 4. Rose Coats (Maryland) – 19:45.4; 5. Molly Malague (Harvard) – 19:48.2.
 
Utah State Women's Results: 16. Natalie Swain – 20:14.8; 27. Shelby Jensen – 20:24.6; 34. Sarah Ellis – 20:31.4; 54. Caroline Moon – 20:51.4; 83. Hailey Shakespear – 21:10.2; 97. Brie Smith – 21:16.5; 108. Camilla McKinstry – 21:20.1; 125. Liz Phillips – 21:28.0; 216. Cameron Moore – 22:05.5; Ava Trimble – DNF.
  
Men's 8K Open Race Top-Five Finishers: 1. Jackson Shorten (Princeton) – 23:59.4; 2. Will Benoit (Unattached) – 24:02.7; 3. Niels Peeters (Wingate) – 24:06.0; 4. Franco Parra Ramone (Princeton) – 24:09.5; 5. Weston Brown (Princeton) – 24:10.5.
 
Utah State Men's Results: 8. Walker Cole – 24:18.2; 21. Will Dixon – 24:36.5; 46. Ethan Peterson – 25:00.8.
 
Women's 6K Open Race Top-Five Finishers: 1. Mary-Kate Finn (Unattached) – 20:04.4; 2. Keerstin Augustin (Unattached) – 20:22.5; 3. Grace Weigele (Unattached) – 20:23.2; 4. Emma De Jong (Princeton) – 20:42.8; 5. Olivia Martin (Princeton) – 20:54.4.

Utah State Women's Results: 28. Taylor Palmer – 22:00.3.
 
BENGAL INVITATIONAL | October 3, 2025 | Pocatello, Idaho
Men's Top-Five Finishers: 1. Seth Babbel (Idaho State) – 24:48; 2. Abbott Valentine (Unattached) – 24:51; 3. Sunny Gunn (Unattached) – 24:59; 4. Mark Boyle (Unattached) – 25:09; 5. Drew Hogan (USU) – 25:13.
 
Utah State Men's Results: 5. Drew Hogan – 25:13; 6. John Simmons – 25:15; 13. Michael Moffat – 26:00; 19. Luke Stockett – 26:26.
 
Women's 5K Top-Five Finishers: 1. Danielle Brow (Weber State) – 18:08; 2. Mazee Southward (Unattached) – 18:13; 3. Ashley Reeck (Idaho State) – 18:15; 4. Kelsey Stensland-Plymale (Providence (MT)) – 18:16; 5. Jolynn Jones (Weber State) – 18:17.
 
Utah State Women's Results: 10. Chelsea Shakespear – 18:42; 19. Cailey Bracken – 18:55; 24. Charlotte Felt – 19:08; 32. Alayna Wardle – 19:24.
 
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