Nov. 8, 2007

PITTSBURGH - The Pitt cross country team will send fourteen runners, seven men and seven women, to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships to be held at Lehigh University on Saturday. The Men's 10K race will kick-off the event, starting at 11:00 a.m. and be followed by the women's race at 12:15 p.m.

The Mid-Atlantic Championships will mark the Panthers' second trip to Lehigh's Goodman Campus for a race this year. In September, Pitt participated in the Paul Short Invitational, hosted by Lehigh. The men's team placed 16th, while the women captured 25th out of the 41 teams that participated.

Freshman Joshua Christopher (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) turned in his second-best time of the season, finishing in 25:38 at the Paul Short Invitational and will look to improve on that mark this weekend. Teammates Curtis Larimer (Colorado Springs, Co./Palmer), Lane King (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), Teddy Miller (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) and Jack Morrow (Tulsa, Ok./Holland Hall) will all race at Lehigh for a second time this season as well. In their last outing, each runner was among the first six to cross the finish line for the Panthers.

The men's team is coming off an 11th place finish at the Big East Championships, where sophomore Sam Weiser (Ellwood City, Pa./West Point) posted a second place for the Panthers. Weiser will also be joined by classmate Kyle Kaminski (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) in this weekend's race.

Senior Alexandra Briggs (Washington, Pa./Washington) finished less than one second shy of her season-best time, crossing the finish line in 22:14 at the Paul Short Invitational. Joining her again in the Mid-Atlantic Championships will be the Panthers' other top four finishers in that race; freshmen Anna Yoney (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) and June Farley (Radnor, Pa./Radnor) and seniors Amy Ruffolo (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and Nikki Bielick (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem).

Other key contributors are juniors Monica Bhattacharjee (Penfield, Ny./Penfield) and Melissa Vignetti (Pittsburgh, Pa./McMurray) who captured fifth and seventh place, respectively, for the Panthers at the Big East Championships last weekend.