On a beautiful, yet slightly warm, afternoon on October 1, the Blair boys ran in the 52nd annual Paul Short Invitational 5K cross country race at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Several Mid-Atlantic states were represented at this classic venue. The Buccaneers once again unleashed their "pack attack," with their top five finishers separated by only 1:06. The performance earned them 13th place in a field of 42 teams.
Crossing the finish line first for Blair was Matthew Jacob ’28 in 18:30, followed by the 2-3 punch of Luke Hosonitz ’28 in 18:53 and Ashton Brockington ’29 in 18:55. Nick Rolka ’30 continued his steady scoring with a solid 19:21, and Brayden Yau ’27 was within sight at 19:36 to complete the Bucs' scoring squad. Making their 2026 debuts after recovering from lower-leg injuries, Sam Wykoff ’29 (19:57) and Munir Toklu ’28 (22:21) rounded out the Blair runners. Kudos to Will Souweidane ’29, who was unable to race but traveled with the team and served ably as team manager.
The Buccaneers now set their sights on Saturday, October 10, when they host The Hun School on their home 5K course in Blairstown, NJ. It is the season's first dual meet against another MAPL school, and the starter's gun fires at 1:30 p.m.