FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's and women's cross country teams will toe the line this Friday, October 3, at the prestigious Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. The meet, scheduled for a 9 a.m. start, is recognized as one of the largest and most competitive cross country races on the East Coast.

Head Coach Andrew Gerard noted that the invitational comes at a transitional phase for the men's team as they shift their training toward more race-specific work. "The Paul Short meet always hits at an interesting juncture for us," Gerard said. "With our focus on being at our best at the end of the season and peaking at championship races, this meet hits at an odd place in the season for our men's team especially. We've just started to transition our workouts to incorporate more aggressive, race pace intervals so, historically, we're shy on some of the quality work that other teams have under their belts right now. Consequently, the intensity of Paul Short is a mis-match with where we are physically in our preparations but it is such a dominant meet on the East Coast schedule that there just aren't a lot of other choices for meets to challenge us on this weekend. So, we'll go in, compete hard, move on and not blow it into something more than it is – a tool to help us get ready for the meets we're really pointing at the end of the season."

On the women's side, Associate Head Coach Tony Mihalich emphasized that the meet provides an important opportunity for growth against a strong field. "The women have a similar focus. The goal at Paul Short is to get exposed to a large, high quality race, and get a little closer to completing our skillset that we call upon in November," Mihalich said. "I guess the ultimate goal is to be able to line up on race day and do what comes naturally, and the only way it comes naturally is to have done it before. So it's almost like we are getting reps. Naturally, they are getting fitter though, so races are a much more exciting way to test and measure the work we have done, and uncover the work we will continue to do."

What's Next
The Paul Short Invitational will serve as another critical test for the Patriots as they continue building momentum toward the championship portion of the season. Mason will return to competition on Friday, October 17, at the IC4A/ECAC Championships, hosted at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y.