MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – Penn State Harrisburg's men's and women's cross country program hosted its annual Bud Smitley Invitational on campus on Saturday morning, Oct. 5.
The men's team earned a third-place finish out of six competing squads, while the women came home eighth as a unit on the day. Camilo Ruiz was the highest-finishing men's runner, while Abagail Marquardt paced the women's squad.
Ruiz completed the 5K event in 18:33.8, good enough to secure a 15th-place finish. Following closely behind were teammates Patrick Workman and Kadeem Willis, with Workman's effort of 18:49.2 clinching him 18th place and Willis' jaunt of 18:59.9 securing a 19th-place finish.
Charles-Antoine Sokohl came home 34th and Carlos Rodriguez completed the Blue & White scoring contingency with a 50th-place finish. Andrew Bomberger, Ricardo Lugo, Prabin Bhattarai, Michael Vinson and Khaled Budeir rounded out the Blue & White runners.
Marquardt continued her promising rookie campaign by completing the course in 24:59.4 and garnering a 20th-place finish. Next up for the women was Jennifer Ross, whose time of 26:41.1 was good enough to earn her a 31st-place finish.
Abbey Nelson was the next Penn State Harrisburg runner to cross the line in 44th, while Kalaya Bennett and Destini Richards completed the Lions' scoring group.
The Blue & White will get a week off to prepare for their penultimate event of the season at the Gettysburg Invitational on Saturday morning, Oct. 19.