HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's cross country team finished fifth overall at the Main Line Invitational on the Fran Rizzo Alumni Cross Country Course on an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon. The Fords put forth a strong showing on the home course, as Haverford outpaced Division II No. 22 Shippensburg as well as Division I Lehigh and NJIT, along with Division III foes Widener and Muhlenberg.

First-year Simon Lane led the way for the Fords, finishing in 19:54.4 for eighth overall and the top Division III placement in the race, edging out a pair of charging Penn runners in an impressive performance.

Senior Micah Lachman placed 22nd in 20:19.8, followed by junior Owen Bluman in 33rd with a time of 20:43.7. Junior Luke de Valpine ran 20:54.3 for 41st, and senior Jakob Maiwald closed the scoring five in 44th at 20:58.9.

Junior Torin Pelton-Flavin crossed in 51st at 21:13.3, with first-year Will Tew right behind in 56th at 21:21.5. First-year Cole Branstrom ran 21:46.6 for 68th, sophomore Reef Kirchner placed 71st in 21:57.8, and first-year Raine Guidarelli took 74th in 22:12.1. Junior Gopal Patel finished 76th in 22:21.1, sophomore Nicky Elias-Gillette was 77th in 22:21.8, and first-year Jack McCurry placed 80th at 22:26.8. Senior Deven Abrams followed in 83rd at 22:36.4, with senior Joseph DeRosa running 22:41.8 for 86th overall.

First-year Oliver Barr ran 22:57.6 for 90th, first-year Liam Deimler placed 94th in 23:11.6, and first-year Gabriel Bernstein finished 95th at 23:19.4. First-year Wyatt Grace crossed in 23:30.6 for 100th, and junior Cullen Worth placed 101st in 23:50.1. First-year Josue Laurore finished 106th in 24:12.3, first-year Will Gray placed 110th with a time of 24:33.8, and first-year Ben Aaron rounded out the Haverford lineup in 114th at 25:31.8.

Penn captured the overall title, well clear of second-place La Salle (76 points) and third-place George Mason (81). Swarthmore narrowly edged the Fords for fifth, 128 to 131. The individual crown went to Sahil Dodda of the Quakers in 19:19.6, as he tussled with George Mason's Biruk Beardsley (19:24.6) at the top of the field.

The Fords will now return to action on Friday, October 3, at the annual Paul Short Run. Haverford will ramp things up with a full week off to prepare for one of the largest races of the season, hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. The first race is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m.