Sumrall, Heller lead men's cross country at Lehigh's Paul Short Invitational

Allen Sumrall finished 27th out of 354 runners to lead Bates at Lehigh University's Paul Short Invitational on Oct. 2, 2015. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Seniors Allen Sumrall and Gregg Heller placed 27th and 39th out of 354 runners, respectively, leading the No. 18 nationally ranked Bates men's cross country team to eighth place out of 39 teams on Friday at the Paul Short Invitational College Men's Brown 8K at Lehigh University.

Racing in the College Men's Brown 8K race -- part of one of the nation's largest annual cross country meets -- the Bobcats were fourth out of 17 Division III teams, topped only by No. 16 Haverford, No. 27 Allegheny and Wesleyan. No. 21 Colby placed 10th. Bates also outpaced such Division I teams as Siena (9th), Marist (11th), Quinnipiac (12th) and Fairfield (15th).

Sumrall (Albuquerque, N.M.) led the Bobcats for the third time in as many races this season, covering the course in 25:19, a 5:06 per mile pace. Heller (Walla Walla, Wash.) finished in 25:27, a 5:08 pace.

Junior Joe Doyle (Glastonbury, Conn.) was Bates' third runner, finishing 77th overall in 25:46, followed in the scoring by junior Michael Horowicz (Montclair, N.J.) in 86th (25:49) and senior Taylor Saucier (Freeport, Maine) in 91st (25:52). Bates' displacers in the race were junior Evan Ferguson-Hull (West Hartford, Conn.) in 97th (25:54) and sophomore Matt Morris (Bethesda, Md.) in 120th (26:06).

Other Bates team members will also compete on Saturday at the Keene State Invitational