The 48th annual Paul Short Run, a series of cross country races dedicated to Lehigh University’s former assistant director of athletics, was a first for some, a repeat for others, and an experience to be had by all with high school competitors running in the Brown Race or the White Race on Friday afternoon at Lehigh’s Goodman Campus.

Moravian Academy freshman Virginia Kraus completed a top five performance placing fourth (17:52.30) out of 399 girls from the state of Pennsylvania.

Liberty’s girls in the same race were Maddie Mumma (19:16.70), Mikailyn Matacavage (20:35.10), Kendall Terefinko (20:44.00), Emma Haas (20:53.70), Emily Orrico (21:24.50), Kateyln Mast (22:09.70), Lilah McClarin (22:22.90), and Ella Scott (23:39.90).

Freedom’s Ava Fihlman also competed in the Brown Race (19:05.90).

I loved it,” said Fihlman after her first Paul Short Run. “I loved how I could pick a bunch of people off and still have a bunch of people to stick with. It was really competitive. I had to cut in quite a bit, but it was similar to the state start last year, and I just went out aggressively. I felt really good at mile two, and I picked it up a lot and felt really fast, but once I finished, I felt like I was gonna pass out. It was a good finish for me.”

Haverford’s Olivia Cieslak won the Brown Race (17:42.70) for the girls.

Hatboro-Horsham’s Brian DiCola won the Brown Race for the boys (14:43.20) with the second fastest time in Pennsylvania state history, and Palisades’ Thomas Smigo placed 11th (15:21.40).

Liberty’s boys who competed in the same race were Owen Reilly (16:40.80), Emrick Leshko (17:10.10), Jack Huie (17:20.00), Spencer Sabo (17:41.60), Ryan Aburto (17:47.30), Luke Daignault (17:48.90), Cole Ruhf (18:07.10), Owen Haas (18:25.80), Colin Wycherley (19:13.00), Luke Marstellar (21:18.10), Carl Fair (21:29.00), and Jalen King (21:57.10).

“I was aiming for a better time, but nothing went wrong, so it was overall a good race, and I caught three or four people in that last 150 meters,” Reilly said. “Throughout the race, I was finding different people, so for the first mile, there was a kid from Easton I tried to stay with, then a Nazareth kid, but by the time I got up to the cornfield around the second mile, I didn’t know anyone, so at that point, I was running to run. Suddenly, there was no one that I knew, but I told myself to keep going and got a little surge of energy, and I think I finished pretty strong then.”

Freedom’s Dylan Boyle (16:23.60), Joe Bauer (16:52.40), Ryan Parkin (17:42.60), and Ryan Haas (17:59.40) also competed in the Brown Race.

“Since I ran it last year, I knew the feel of the course, where to start kicking, what hills to go up, what time I should come in for my first mile, and I was more in control of the time situation. I hit my first mile marker dead on, and I think that’s because I got out really hard at the start,” Boyle said. “I saw that time, and I was like, I’m just gonna get down more and more and more, and I picked seven kids off, one after the other.”

Bethlehem Catholic’s Margaret Burke placed 77th (21:06.20) out of 370 in the Girls White Race, and Becahi’s Mekai Britt placed 89th (17:27.20) out of 450 in the Boys White Race.