The Binghamton cross country team competed in the Brown division of the Lehigh/Paul Short Run on Friday morning, seeing top-three performances out of both the men’s and women’s teams.

The men’s squad placed third out of 38 teams, while the women’s placed third out of 39. Between both teams, the Bearcats had six medalists, the most they have achieved in the Paul Short Brown Race.

(0:25) “Both teams, I thought, had good performances overall,” said Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff. “We had a lot of kids who ran personal bests on that course at Lehigh, and certainly it’s always nice to get a top-three finish as a team.”

On the men’s team, sophomore Bobby Mayclim placed 10th in the race out of 314 finishers, registering a time of 24:41.8 in the 8k. Following him was junior Liam Cody, who finished 24th with a time of 25:07.3, and senior Andrew Rosenblatt in 25th place with a time of 25:08.3. All three received medals for placing in the top 25 racers.

The Bearcats men’s squad had four more players finish in the top 100 for the team, sealing their third-place finish, trailing behind only George Washington and American.

(2:33) “It was definitely a nice performance by [Mayclim],” Acuff said. “It ended up just being a little hot running later in the afternoon. I think that affected us, more than anything, was just the heat.”

Meanwhile, the women’s squad was headlined by senior Sydney Leitner, who finished 12th overall in the 6k with a time of 21:16.0, and now holds the highest finish for the women’s team in its history in the Paul Short Brown Race. Along with Leitner, the team had two other medalists in sophomore Anna Gansrow, who finished in 20th with a time of 21:34.2, and freshman Alice Rappazzo, who finished in 22nd with a time of 21:36.0.

The women’s team saw three more Bearcats finish in the top 100, once again leading them to a third-place finish, falling only behind George Washington and Iona.

(3:36) “[Leitner’s] time was her second fastest ever on that course,” Acuff said. “So, considering the conditions with the heat, etc., certainly that was a great performance from her. Another good step forward from the Iona meet. We saw a lot of improvement with the team from Iona and Colgate to Lehigh.”

Just three of the finishers in the top 100 across both the men’s and women’s squads are in their last year with the team, as many of the team’s top players will maintain NCAA eligibility beyond the 2025 campaign. Most notably, Mayclim, Gansrow and Rappazzo currently possess at minimum two years of future NCAA eligibility.

(5:22) “We have one more good opportunity to put in a hard week of training this week,” Acuff said. “So that’s our plan, to get in another really good week of training, and then get ready for Canisius, give everyone another opportunity to compete one last time.”

The cross country team will next compete at the Canisius Alumni Challenge on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Buffalo, New York The event is set to begin at Delaware Park at noon.