Delsea’s Noah Deckert placed 4th overall and led St. Joe’s to the team title Friday at the Lehigh Invitational on the historic Goodman Cross Country Course in Bethlehem.
Deckert ran 18:13.4 over 6,000 meters and was St. Joe’s first finisher and second college finisher. Penn’s Dylan Throop won the race in 18:00.0 followed by two post-grads.
St. Joe’s edged Penn 33-37 and Lehigh was 3rd with 53 points. That’s something of an upset for the Hawks, who are ranked 11th in the Mid-Atlantic Region by the USTFCCCA, four spots below Penn.
(Something that probably only I care about: The Lehigh XC course is actually not entirely in Bethlehem. When the runners hit about 2 ½ miles on the 6K course (or at about 5 ½ miles on the 10K course) and and make a left turn just below I-78, that part of the course is in Lower Saucon Township. The course then goes down a hill parallel to Mountain Drive and turns left back into Bethlehem and toward Goodman Stadium and the finish line.)
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 