BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Niagara men's and women's cross country teams participated in the 36th annual Brooks Paul Short Run on Friday afternoon, with the men's team finishing in 36th place in the and the women's team finishing in 38th place in the "brown" race.

The men's team was paced by junior Mike Trendell (Oriskany Falls, N.Y.), who finished the 8k course in 26:43, good for 119th place. Senior Colin Durina (Poland, Ohio) finished the course in 27:06, while juniors Jason Fischer (Newfane, N.Y.) and Brian Traugott (Rochester, N.Y.) finished approximately 25 seconds later.

Freshman Nicole Mehlman (Perkasie, Pa.) led the women's team, finishing the 6k course in 23:39, good for 109th place. Behind Mehlman was freshman Jessica Spellane (Vestal, N.Y.) clocking in at 23:58, while seniors Chelsea Usack (Horseheads, N.Y.) and Liz Smyth (Cicero, N.Y.) were the next two to finish for the Purple Eagles.

The Purple Eagles are back in action on Oct. 17, when they travel to the Albany Invitational, their final tune-up before the MAAC Championship race.