Kerns re-writes record book at Paul Short Run

Rio Grande Sports Information
     BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Never mind the fact that there was a marked improvement in the quality of competition.
     University of Rio Grande senior Amarissa Kerns found herself busy taking an eraser to the school record book again on Friday afternoon.
     The Lancaster, Ohio native established a new school record and the RedStorm set a new team record for average time in the Brown Division of the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh University at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course.
     Kerns finished the 6k course in a time of 22:00 for 44th place individually, while the team posted an average finish time of 23:09.
     Rio Grande finished 28th among the 39 competing schools with 672 points, defeating eight NCAA Division I programs in the process.
     George Washington University won the team crown with 99 points, while Iona was second with 154 points and Binghamton rounded out the top three with 177 points.
     Ruth White from the University of New Hampshire had the top individual mark in the field of 342 competitors with a time of 20:29.
     "Amarissa sets another school record and the team average was nearly as fast as what she ran at the All-Ohio last year when she set the school record," said Rio Grande head coach Matt Paxton. "We had some other kids who ran really well today, too. I thought Marley (Kreischer) and Brandy (Shular) ran really well and Ava Rooker had a 47-second PR, which was huge. I don't remember the last time that Rio beat a DI school - more or less eight of them - in women's cross country."
     Rio Grande was the only NAIA school participating in its race.
     Also running for the RedStorm was sophomore Laura Hamm (South Point, OH), who was 93rd with a time of 22:37; Kreischer, a freshman from Oak Hill, Ohio, who was 179th after crossing in 23:30; Shular, a freshman from Winchester, Ohio, who placed 182nd with a mark of 23:31; freshman Camryn Huck (Beverly, OH), who was 238th with a time of 24:07; freshman Grace Heffernan (Bidwell, OH), who took 247th place in a time of 24:18; senior Jayden Roach (Baltimore, OH), who finished 253rd with a time of 24:26; Rooker, a freshman from Chillicothe, Ohio, who was 262nd after crossing in 24:34; and freshman Briana Nelson (Chillicothe, OH), who was 283rd with a mark of 25:23.
     Rio Grande is scheduled to return to action on Friday, Oct. 17, at the Jenna Strong Fall Classic hosted by Wilmington (OH) College.