The Georgetown men’s cross country team captured the overall title at the Paul Short Invitational for the third year in a row last weekend, topping a field of 44 teams in Lehigh, Pa.

Behind Georgetown and its 123 points were LaSalle with 154 points and Princeton with 170 points.

The Hoyas’ win was led by junior Matt Debole, who blazed to a fourth-place finish over the eight-kilometer course in a time of 23:58.3. Running through the first mile in a steady 4:59, Debole stayed in a close pack behind. He increased his pace quickly enough to make his way up to the lead pack. Averaging 4:50 per mile for the whole race, he caught dozens of runners to capture fourth.

“Matt ran a great race,” Georgetown Assistant Coach Pat Henner said. “Even though the first mile was slow, his last two were really fast,”He’s brought his game to a new level this year.”

Senior Charles Millioen was the next Hoya in, crossing the line in 22nd place in a time of 24:25.5. Junior Brian Dalpiaz and senior Chris Esselborn sped to 28th and 29th place finishes with times of 24:32.9 and 24:33.1, respectively.

Junior Andre Laboy completed Georgetown’s top-five scorers with his 40th-place finish in 24:44.3. Sophomore Dan Nunn also ran a great race, finishing 50th in 24:48.5.

The team averaged 24:26.8 per runner, a full two seconds ahead of second-place LaSalle, and 5.2 seconds faster than third-place Princeton. Furthermore, the Hoyas are still without two of their top runners in senior Fleet Hower and freshman Andrew Bumbalough.

The men’s open race was highlighted by another great Hoya performance as junior Rasheed Thompson ran to a third-place finish with a fast time of 24:50.8.

“Rasheed did a real good job in his race,” Henner said. “This was by far his best cross country race ever.”

In the women’s competition, junior Liz Maloy outraced a field of over 300 runners to capture the individual win in a time of 20:28.0 for the six-kilometer course. She led the Georgetown women’s team to second place with a team total of 138 points. Columbia took the overall victory with 121 points. Tennessee finished in a distant third with 186 points.

Sophomore Maggie Infeld took 11th place individually, covering the course in 20:53.2. Freshman Lise Ogrodnick’s time of 21:30.0 was good for 35th place. Seniors Erin Henry and Sabine Knothe came in 45th and 46th with times of 21:40.0 and 21:43.6, respectively, and freshmen Avril Ogrodnick and Kailin Collins completed the top seven as they finished in 53rd and 106th place.

Senior Kim Malcolm highlighted the women’s open race as she raced to a sixth place finish in 22:03.9. Junior Joanna Rodgers finished close behind in 10th place with a time of 22:14.

As the Hoyas continue to improve each week, they look ahead to a championship season that is quickly approaching. After taking next weekend off to train, the Hoyas will compete at the NCAA pre-nationals meet on Saturday, Oct. 15, in Terre Haute, Ind., the venue for the NCAA championship in November.

“We have a lot of work to do, but if we put in the work we’ll get to where we need to be,” Henner said.