Sept. 4, 2010
PITT CROSS COUNTRY BEGINS SEASON AT DUQUESNE DUALS
PITTSBURGH--The Pitt cross country team kicked off the season Saturday at the Duquesne Duals held at Schenley Park. The men's team finished fourth while the women's team placed eighth.
The event started at 9 a.m. with the women competed first and running a 5k while the men followed with an 8k. Other participating schools included host Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon, Canisius, St. Bonaventure, St. Joseph's, St. Louis, St. Vincent, Xavier and Youngstown State.
The men went 6-3 in head-to-head competition. Teddy Miller highlighted the Panthers' success finishing sixth overall with a time of 25:44. Three other Panthers finished in the top-25 including Joshua Christopher (18th), Andrew Cerrito (19th) and Kevin Hull (24th).
"I was very pleased with our guys today," Coach Bell said. "We were without Greg Kareis who is usually one of our top five guys. Teddy led us and a lot of other guys set some personal records today."
On the women's side, several runners recorded personal bests, including Emily Barno, who led the Panthers with a time of 19:42 - almost two minutes better than her performance at the Duals last season.
"Emily definitely wins the most improved athlete at the event," Bell said. A lot of our girls set personal bests and we want to set the bar high."
Senior Carrie Mavrikis was another runner who recorded a personal best.
"Today was very satisfying for us because we've worked so hard to prepare for the season," Mavrikis said. "We're all very proud of each other."
Cooler temperatures and overcast skies set the scene for the men's and women's events.
"The conditions were ideal today, Mavrikis added." "We've been practicing in the afternoons and it's been brutally hot out the past few days. Today was a nice change that really helped us get deep breaths and compete at the highest level."
Below are the results from this morning's action. The team returns in two weeks for a tri-meet with Duquesne and Bucknell. The event will also be held at Schenley Park.
Pitt Women:
37 Emily Barno 19:42
39 Elesia Wilson 19:48
47 Miya Johnson 20:09
51 Rachel Erny 20:15
64 Korinne Piper 21:01
67 Susan Martinez 21:09
78 Rachel Hess 22:03
83 Carrie Mavrikis 22:29
84 Kelsey Coates 22:36
Women's Scores:
St. Joseph's 15
Pitt 50
Duquesne 15
Pitt 48
Canisius 15
Pitt 43
St. Louis 25
Pitt 42
Xavier 15
Pitt 46
Youngstown State 23
Pitt 32
Carnegie Mellon 27
Pitt 28
Pitt Men:
6 Teddy Miller 25:44
18 Joshua Christopher 26:20
19 Andrew Cerrito 26:23
24 Kevin Hull 26:42
39 Vinnie DePalma 27:12
60 Dontave Cowsette 27:39
79 Wesley Washington 28:08
83 Patrick Wylie 28:15
88 Benjamin Hatch 28:29
Men's Scores:
Pitt 17
Youngstown State 39
Pitt 20
St. Louis 36
Pitt 17
Canisius 43
Pitt 15
Carnegie Mellon 42
Pitt 15
St. Vincent 44
Pitt 15
St. Bonaventure 47
Duquesne 17
Pitt 46
St. Joseph's 27
Pitt 28
Xavier 19
Pitt 28
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