DAYTON – The University of Dayton cross country programs, both ranked in the top 15 in the region, will return to action on Friday, as they travel east to compete in the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh University.
 
After a pair of second place finishes to open the season, the Flyers men's program enters competition this week ranked 14^th in the Great Lakes Region by USTFCCCA. The trio of Sam Duncan, Andrew Schuster, and Bryce Conley have led the way for Dayton thus far, as they were the top three finishers for the Flyers in the first two events. Conley ran a personal best 8K time of 24:40.5 on Sept. 16 at the All-Ohio Championships, finishing ninth overall as Dayton's fastest finisher.
 
Entering their penultimate tune-up before the Atlantic 10 Championships in October, the Flyers women's program finds themselves ranked 15^th in the Great Lakes Region by USTFCCCA. After a third place finish at the Mike Baumer Classic to open the season, the Flyers bounced back with an impressive second place finish at the All-Ohio Championships. Emily Sreenan has paced the Flyers through two events, finishing in the top 10 in both meets with a pair of 18:06 times. Abby Carter has also shown progress in her junior campaign, finishing as the second fastest Flyer in each event, both times in the overall top 15.
 
The Paul Short Run will be one of the largest cross country events in the world with a  total of 3,692 college entries spread over 286 teams.