BETHLEHEM, Pa. - - A hot and muggy day at Lehigh University led to slow times across the board at the Paul Short Invitational as the Wilmington University men's cross team finished 18th overall and the women's cross country team finished 45th on Saturday morning.

Amongst a field of NCAA Division I, II, and III programs, sophomore Jesus Amezquita was the lead finisher for the Wildcats, placing 23rd overall, earning him top honors among all participating Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference programs. He finished the 8K in 25:57, a mere 53 seconds off the top pace from the field. The men finished with 576 points, good enough for 18th out of 46 teams.

Junior standout Richie Mitten placed 50th overall, finishing the race in 26:29, second among the Wildcats. Marshall Hawkins gave Wilmington 158 points for his finishing time of 27:37, the third finisher for the Wildcats. Nathan Parmenter was the fourth Wildcat to score, placing 171st overall with a time of 27:43. Running in his first meet of the year, Mike O'Brian was the final scorer for the Wildcats, placing 174th overall with a time of 27:45 for the 8K.

Junior Matt Mossman finished out of the scoring for the Wildcats, but raved to a 224th position with a time of 28:25 on Saturday. Finishing right with Mossman was Mark Hannagan who placed 228th overall with a time of 28:26. Mike Wright was the final competitor for the Wildcats, racing to a 360th finish with a time of 30:44.

Princeton won the Paul Short Invitational with an outstanding 94 points, having three runners inside the top 13 of the meet. Albany finished second overall with 133, followed by Monmouth with 158 points to round out the top three teams. Monmouth's Khari Bowen won medalist honors with a time of 25:04, beating out a field of 372 runners.

The women were led by senior Jeanette Halliburton who ran the 6K event in a time of 26:12, coming in 249th overall. Sophomore Morgan Ferrick had her best showing among Wildcat finishers, becoming the second Wildcat to cross the line on Saturday with a time of 26:43 and in 267th place. Senior SaraBeth Oppermann placed 284th overall with a time of 27:47 while graduate student Tijen Ozcan placed 293rd overall with a time of 29:27.

Junior Chelsie Maher rounded out the Wilmington score with a time of 31:39 in the 6K, crossing the line in 297th place overall. Jordan Swain was the final competitor for the Wildcats, finishing the 6K in 34:38.

Holy Cross took home the women's team title, scoring 176 points without having a single runner in the top 10. Shippensburg finished second overall with 184 points while Haverford College rounded out the top three teams with 225 points. Mansfield's Jessica Scordino paced the field, finishing the 6K course in 21:13, 11 seconds ahead of the field.

The Wildcats will race with Princeton for the third time this season when they head to the Princeton XC Invitational in two weeks. After joining the Tigers at the UD Invite and today at the Paul Short Invitational, the Wildcats will head to Princeton, N.J. for a meet on October 19.