Women's Cross Country Team Places Second at Miami Fall Classic

9/23/2001

Senior Amanda Schmidt leads the women's squad with a fifth-place finish.

PITTSBURGH-The University of Pittsburgh cross country teams competed yesterday at the Miami Fall Classic on the campus of Miami (Ohio) University with the women's squad placing second and the men's team finishing seventh. The Panther women earned 71 points, falling 25 points short of the RedHawks.

Leading the way for the women's team, which had three runners in the top 10, was senior Amanda Schmidt (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck), who placed fifth overall in 22:32. Freshman Lauren Shaffer (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) finished seventh in 22:57 and freshman Maureen McCandless (Bensalem, Pa./Nazareth Academy) was right behind her as she crossed the finish line in eighth place with a time of 22:58.

For the men's squad, freshman Darrell Curtis (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) was the top Panther finisher as he placed 36th with a time of 26:32. Sophomore Mike Diano (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) finished in 44th place in 27:00.

Pittsburgh's cross country teams are back in action on Oct. 6 at the Paul Short Invitational in Lehigh, Pa.