EASTON, Pennsylvania – Men's and women's cross country will head to eastern Pennsylvania this Saturday to participate in Lafayette's Leopard Invitational. This is the final competition for the program before they take part in the MAAC Championships in two weeks. The men will race in the 8k at 10:00 a.m. while the women compete in the 6k at 10:45 a.m.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• At the prestigious Paul Short Run, both teams put up impressive performances in their respective events.
• The women ran in the Gold Division against nationally ranked opponents and finished 10^th out of over 40 teams. This was a huge improvement from last year's 25^th.
• Gianna Tedeschi led the team with a 40^th place out of over 300 runners.
• The men participated in the Brown Division, where they took eighth out of 44 teams, including regionally ranked rivals.
• Michael Kennedy turned in a personal best performance to take 15^th out of 362 competitors, which would have placed top-60 in the Gold Division.

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION

• Teams in attendance at the Leopard Invitational include hosts Lafayette, Lehigh, St. Joseph's, Loyola, Seton Hall, Pace, Keystone and MAAC rivals Monmouth.
• For the men, St. Joseph's and Monmouth are ninth and 11^th in the Mid-Atlantic Region respectively.
• For the women, Lehigh is 13^th in the Mid-Atlantic Region and the only other ranked team besides Marist.
• Lafayette's course features many uphill slopes, and will be a battle of attrition for all teams participating.

FIVE FACTS

• The women's program has been ranked in the Northeast every week of the season, and currently sits at 12^th.
• This is the deepest the squad has ever been, with different runners leading the team at every meet.
• Looking towards MAAC Championships, the women and men have been selected to finish second and fourth respectively in the preseason poll.
• Marist has not competed against MAAC-favorite Iona's full squad yet this year.
• The women's squad has outperformed every conference opponent they've faced this season.

UP NEXT

The MAAC Cross Country Championships will be held in Loudonville, New York on October 27^th.