Cross Country Competes At Notre Dame
10/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
| Notre Dame Invitational | |||
| Date | Friday, October 3 | W: 2:00 p.m. | M: 2:45 p.m. | Open: 3:30 p.m. | ||
| Location | Notre Dame Golf Course / Notre Dame, Ind. | ||
| Television | N/A | ||
| Radio | N/A | ||
| Online | N/A | ||
| Game Notes / Stats | 2014 Results | ||
| Promotions | N/A | ||
| Social Media | @PittTFandXC - Twitter / Facebook | ||
PITTSBURGH - With nearly three weeks since many of Pitt's top runners last raced, the Panthers should have fresh legs when the team files in at the starting line at this year's Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Oct. 3.
LAST TIME OUT
Giving its best runners time to recuperate for Notre Dame, Pitt took last weekend off after competing at the St. Vincent Invitational back on Sept. 20. Despite most of Pitt's elite runners resting during the St. Vincent Invitational, the Panthers had little trouble winning the team crown in both the men's and women's event.
The men's race, in which Pitt topped host St. Vincent 35-38 for a first place finish among 12 teams, featured Panthers freshman Aaron Lauer, who won his first collegiate race in a time of 27:06.0 on the 8K course.
On the women's side, Pitt needed just 21 points to be crowned champions, placing seven runners in the top-10, including spots two through five. Sophomore Abby Peters was the Panthers' first finisher in the 5K race at 19:53.6.
TEAM TITLES AND INDIVIDUALS CHAMPS
Pitt has fielded a total of nine teams spread across five races this season, grabbing the team title in six of the events. Additionally, three Panthers runners, all on the men's side, have won races this year. They are Cullen Davis (UB Stampede Invite), Matt Kazanjian (SHU Griffin Classic) and Aaron Lauer (St. Vincent Invitational).
Coming into the season, Pitt runners placed first a combined three times since 2009. Since the turn of the century, no Pitt cross country team has had more than two first place finishers in a single season until this year.
PROGRAM-BEST REGIONAL RANKINGS RELEASED
Three weeks ago when the USTFCCCA released its regional rankings, the Pitt cross country program had both men's and women's teams ranked for the first time since at least 2009, which is how far back the organization's records go.
Since then, both teams have held steady in their respective spots. The women are currently seventh and the men are still 13th. Both are believed to be the highest that each team has been regionally ranked.
THREE'S A CROWD
A total of three Pitt runners have received individual accolades less than a month into the 2014 season.
During the first week of competition, senior Cullen Davis was honored as the Atlantic Coast Conference men's cross country Performer of the Week, while freshman Beth Shenck was awarded Eastern College Athletic Conference women's cross country Division I Co-Rookie of the Week, based on their performances at the UB Stampede Invite. The following week freshman Melanie Vlasic also took home the ECAC's Division I Rookie of the Week distinction with a solid finish at Penn State.
SIZING UP THE FIELD
The Notre Dame Invite consists of the Gold races and Blue races. Both of the Panthers' teams will compete in the Gold events, which is a 5-mile race for the men and 5K for the women. Pitt looks to be the cream of the crop on both sides, entering the race holding the distinction as the highest regionally-ranked team in each field.
In addition to Pitt being ranked in the women's field, crosstown rival Duquesne (8th/Mid-Atlantic) is in the top-10. Four more teams, Southern Utah (12th/Mountain), Xavier (13th/Great Lakes), Richmond (14th/Southeast) and Iowa (15th/Midwest), comprise the remaining ranked teams in the 26-team race.
Pitt and Southern Illinois (13th/Midwest) are the top-two regionally ranked teams in the men's Gold race. Joining the two programs in the regional rankings are Loyola (14th/Midwest) and Duquesne (15th/Mid-Atlantic). There will be a total of 24 teams toeing the starting line for the men's event.
LAST YEAR AT NOTRE DAME
With an extremely young roster in a loaded field in last season's Gold races, Pitt's men finished 11th of 23 teams while the women closed out the top 10 among 19 teams.
Three of the men's top-four finishers at last year's race are back, including junior Michael Runco who was Pitt's first finisher in 26th place in 26:13.1. The women look to be in even better shape getting back their top-five runners from the 2013 race. Senior Morgan Perry crossed the line first for Pitt with a 37th place performance in 18:33.6.
UP NEXT
Pitt will come back home to compete in its only meet taking place in Pittsburgh all season long, the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, on Saturday, Oct. 11.
Players Mentioned
