Army West Point Athletics

Men's Cross Country Takes Fourth at Paul Short
October 02, 2015 | Men's Cross Country
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Behind another dominant performance from Matt Bearden the Army West Point men's cross country team cruised to a fourth-place finish at the Paul Short Run hosted by Lehigh on Friday.
The junior from Ewing, N.J., cracked the top-10 for the second time this season, finishing ninth out of the 353 runners in the race. He finished the 8K race in 25:08. His other top-10 this season was when he took home first in the season-opening dual meet against Maine.
Fellow junior Jacob Fong took home the No. two spot for the Black Knights, finishing the race in 25:12. Sophomore Johnny Valeri crossed the finish line 28th overall with a time of 25:19 while senior Drew Beck finished fourth for the team, coming in 32nd with a time of 25:22. Junior Brown Bailey capped the scoring for Army with a 41st-place finish with a time of 25:29.
"I thought we ran a nice race today," said head coach Mike Smith. "They executed well and distributed their effort well. Most of our guys were moving up throughout the race, and none of them were going backwards at the end of the race. We are still a work in progress, but now we are showing the right fitness level at the right time of year. I will look to see how much we continue to improve in the coming weeks."
The Black Knights will return to action on Oct. 16 when they host service academy rival Navy for the annual Star Meet. Â
For complete results from today's race, click here.
For up-to-date information on Army men's cross country follow @ArmyWP_TrackXC on Twitter.
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The junior from Ewing, N.J., cracked the top-10 for the second time this season, finishing ninth out of the 353 runners in the race. He finished the 8K race in 25:08. His other top-10 this season was when he took home first in the season-opening dual meet against Maine.
Fellow junior Jacob Fong took home the No. two spot for the Black Knights, finishing the race in 25:12. Sophomore Johnny Valeri crossed the finish line 28th overall with a time of 25:19 while senior Drew Beck finished fourth for the team, coming in 32nd with a time of 25:22. Junior Brown Bailey capped the scoring for Army with a 41st-place finish with a time of 25:29.
"I thought we ran a nice race today," said head coach Mike Smith. "They executed well and distributed their effort well. Most of our guys were moving up throughout the race, and none of them were going backwards at the end of the race. We are still a work in progress, but now we are showing the right fitness level at the right time of year. I will look to see how much we continue to improve in the coming weeks."
The Black Knights will return to action on Oct. 16 when they host service academy rival Navy for the annual Star Meet. Â
For complete results from today's race, click here.
For up-to-date information on Army men's cross country follow @ArmyWP_TrackXC on Twitter.
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Players Mentioned
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Monday, October 27
Army Women's Rugby v. Navy (25-OCT-25)
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Army Navy Cross Country Star Meet
Sunday, October 19
This Week in Army Football: Tulane
Tuesday, October 14



