Pitt
Buffalo Stampede Invitational
Pitt Women and Men Victorious at Buffalo Stampede Invitational
9/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Both the University of Pittsburgh women's and men's cross country teams won the Buffalo Stampede Invitational and had the individual top finishers on Saturday at Beaver Island State Park.
The women's team turned in a dominating performance as four runners finished inside the top five, and all of their scorers placed inside the top 10, led by sophomore Melanie Vlasic who won the race.
The men's team also had all five scores place inside the top 10, including going 1-2 as Michael Runco won the race while Aaron Lauer took second.
"You never know what to expect when you have a young team, but everyone ran really well," head coach Alonzo Webb said. "The thing I have been preaching to them is the `pack mentality.' They didn't really understand that last year, but both groups displayed that today and they gained a lot of confidence with this race."
In her first meet of the season, Vlasic posted a winning 5K time of 17:44.9, which was six seconds clear of second place and five seconds off her lifetime best which she set as a freshman at Notre Dame.
Vlasic was followed by senior Hillary Boxheimer who placed third overall in 17:51.2, and freshman Gillian Schriever who followed up her second place finish last week with a fourth place finish on Saturday in a time of 17:52.5.
Sophomore Ariel Pastore-Sebring in fifth place (17:56.4) and junior Dee Dee Adams in ninth place (18:10.5) rounded out the scoring for the Panthers who collectively had 22 points to win the race.
The host Bulls finished second with 44 points, followed by Toledo with 67, McMaster with 106 and SUNY Fredonia with 156.
In the men's 8K, Runco paced the field with a time of 25:08.2, which was 11 seconds clear of teammate Lauer in second with a time of 25:19.8. Lauer's time established a new career best.
Junior Chris Montgomery was Pitt's third finisher and was fifth overall in a time of 25:27.7. One spot and one second behind him was sophomore Ryan Hughes in 25:28.4. Rounding out Pitt's scoring was freshman Sebastian Curtin in eighth place with a new PR of 25:42.5.
The men had seven of the races' top 10 finishers overall as Matt McGoey placed ninth (25:43.5) and Chris Pastore tenth (25:46.8).
Buffalo was second for the men with 48 points, followed by McMaster (77) and Toledo (102).
The Panthers continue action next weekend at the St. Vincent Invitational in Latrobe, Pa.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES:
"Freshman Gillian Schriever is running really well. I was curious to see her run with our top girls and she looks like the real deal. It is a long season with ups and downs, but in two meets, she looks like someone who is going to help us."
"Michael Runco was patient. The whole group stayed together and once it was time to go, Runco separated himself. Aaron Lauer looked really good out there too and I was just happy to see all of those guys run well. Our freshmen Sebastian Curtin and Matt McGoey were inside the top 10 and they looked comfortable."
