BETHLEHEM, Pa. — On a warm October afternoon, Eastern University Men's Cross Country raced to a 15th place finish in the Green Race at the Paul Short Invitational. Ryle Mellinger turned over a very solid 26:30 time to finish 17th in the field of over 300 athletes that included Division II and Division III competition. 

The Eagles had five runners set PR's in the race. Anthony Zamichieli, Matthew Schilling, Joshua Knox-Wagner, Ryan Edde, and Malachi Wilson all ran personal-best times.  

"We had a really solid day," Head Coach Kiehl Smith said of the afternoon. "Not perfect but still a very good day. We competed well in the second half of the race and moved up several spots as a team after the first mile. I'm very happy to see the smart racing and place jump as a team. This type of racing will benefit us later in the season. I'm looking forward to putting more pieces together in two weeks."

The Eagles have two final races, a meet at Roanoke and a midweek test at LVC to prepare for MAC Championships.