LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's cross country team placed fifth at the prestigious Paul Short Run at Lehigh on Friday afternoon. In a meet that draws teams from each of the NCAA levels, the Diplomats competed in the White Race which consisted of 32 teams.

The Diplomats entered the race ranked fifth in the Mid-Atlantic Region and defeated both Lebanon Valley and Scranton as those teams were ranked eighth and ninth, respectively. Susquehanna (No. 10) was the only Mid-Atlantic school to beat F&M.

Running the first 6,000 meter race of the season, Lexi Salerno was once again the top finisher for the Diplomats as she crossed the line with a personal best time of 22:54.6. That mark placed her 11th in the field of 263 runners. Emma Kline (23:09.4) and Elizabeth O'Connell (23:32.2) placed 18th and 28th, respectively. O'Connell's time was a personal best for the senior while Kline was competing at the 6,000 meter distance for the first time in her career.

June Sanchez (24:23.9) and Alysse Danyi (24:44) rounded out the team's scoring runners while Kate Henderson (24:55.4) also broke the 25-minute mark. A total of 10 Diplomats competed in Bethlehem on Sunday as Freya Lindvall (25:04.1), Sydney Dzenutis (25:22.2), Laura Greene (25:37.1), and Valerie Fieberg (27:06.6) also took to the course.

With its first 6K of the year under its belt, women's cross country will now have one more meet before the Centennial Conference Championship at the end of the month. The last meet of the regular season will be following a two-week break as the team returns to action on Saturday, October 16 at 11 a.m. for the Hood Invitational.