Sept. 29, 2006

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Senior Bobby Curtis (Louisville, Ky.) crossed the line one second before an opponent from Norfolk State to cap a comeback in the final 200 meters and finished first out of 278 individuals at the Paul Short Invitational held at Lehigh University on Friday afternoon.

Curtis helped Villanova claim the team title in a field of 42 schools, as the Wildcats totaled 101 points to place ahead of Pittsburgh (166) and Columbia (188) in the top three. Villanova finished atop the team standings despite running without its number two runner, senior Andrew Keino (Eldoret, Kenya).

With 200 meters left in the 8K race, Curtis trailed David Kemboi of Norfolk State. However, he out-kicked his opponent over the remaining distance to win the race in 23:53.

It was a strong overall showing for the Wildcats, who placed four runners in the top 27 spots. Milos Mitric (Krusevac, Yugoslavia) and freshman Bobby Papazian (Pittstown, N.J.) crossed the line in 24:53 and 24:56, respectively. The pair came in 21st and 22nd and was just ahead of freshman Allen Brett (Ottawa, Canada) in 27th place with a time of 25:01.

Rounding out the seven counting times for Villanova were senior Michael Kerrigan (Stroudsburg, Pa.) in 32nd place (25:05), graduate student Brian Buechel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in 41st place (25:12) and junior Richard Corcoran (Dublin, Ireland) in 52nd place (25:17). Villanova will return to action on Saturday, October 14 when they travel to Terre Haute, Indiana to compete in the pre-NCAA meet. The race will be held on the campus of Indiana State University. The 2006 NCAA cross country championships will be held in Terre Haute on Monday, November 20.