BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's cross country team finished 20th out of 39 competing schools at the 47th Annual Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh University on Friday. 

Senior Nia Goddard led the way for the Engineers, placing seventh in the deep field that included schools from all three divisions. She ran the 6k event in a time of 21:27.1, averaging 5:45.1 per mile. Just 10 seconds out of the top five, she beat out Elle Mezzio from the University of Miami (FL) by exactly one second.

Other top finishers for RPI included Jillian Lees and Grace Brolly, who ran 119th and 126th, respectively. Lees finished in 23:104, while Brolly came in at 23:15.3. Eileen Beres was 146th in 23:27.6 (6:17.4 per mile).

The Engineers are off from competition next weekend, but return to the course on October 16 for the Connecticut College Invitational in Waterford, Conn.