Maureen McCandless Places Sixth at Penn State National as Cross Country Teams Gear Up for the Big East Championships

10/17/2004

McCandless was the top women's finisher while Sam Bair (26th) paced the men's squad.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Pittsburgh’s men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in their final meet before the Big East Championships as they traveled to the Penn State National yesterday in State College, Pa. The men’s team finished 13^th while the women’s squad placed 18^th.

For the men, freshman Sam Bair performed very well, leading the team with a 26^th-place finish with a time of 26:25. Sophomore Tim Konoval was the second Panther to cross the finish line, coming in 67^th in 26:53. Rounding out the top five finishers for Pittsburgh were sophomore Eric Fleming (77^th, 27:00), senior Nick Westerman (97^th, 27:11) and sophomore Michael Long (118^th, 27:24).

On the women’s side, seniors Maureen McCandless and Lauren Shaffer provided the punch for the Panthers. McCandless, who was named a captain recently by her teammates, placed sixth overall out of 280 competitors with an impressive time of 20:45. Shaffer finished in 22:17, good enough for 52^nd place.

Pittsburgh is back in action on Oct. 29 as the teams travel to the Big East Championships, held in Boston, Mass.