University of Pittsburgh Athletics
PITT WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY TAKES THIRD AT CMU INVITATIONAL
10/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 15, 2006
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's cross country team competed in the CMU Invitational this weekend at Schenley Park. The invitational consisted of 20 teams running a 5K, and Pitt finished third overall with 125 points. Also competing were three members of Pitt's men's cross country team.
On the women's side, Pitt's leading runner was junior Nikki Bielick (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg-Salem). She placed 11th with a time of 19:12.79. Bielick has been Pitt's top runner in the last two competitions, and has contributed points in every race.
Sophomore Monica Bhattacharjee (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) was Pitt's second runner in 15th at 19:18.19. Senior Suzy Bossart (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem) finished in 23rd with a time of 19:33.77. Both runners have consistently been in the top three throughout the last few races.
Rounding out the top five for the Panthers were sophomores Rachel Botham (Shoreline, Wash./Shorewood) and Melissa Vignetti (Pittsburgh, Pa./McMurray). Botham has been in the Panthers' top five in every race, and this was the first race in which Vignetti was able to score for Pitt.
Other Pitt cross country runners included sophomore Aly Brown (Hickory, Pa./Fort Cherry) in 49th at 20:05.50, freshman Megan Heenan (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Hinsdale Central) in 86th at 20:56.09 and junior Shannon Moore (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Gulifoyle) in 97th at 21:09.87.
For the men, junior Eric Burnett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) placed 22nd in the 8K race with a time of 26:43.70. Freshman Kyle Kaminski (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) finished in 44th at 27:09.51, and senior Christian Schmidt (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin/Penn State-Altoona) finished in 72nd at 27:44.83.
In addition to the cross country team, several members of Pitt's women's track and field team also competed in the competition. Leading the track and field team was senior Krystal Epps (Butler, Pa./Butler) and freshman Patricia Anyanwu (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt).
The cross country team will now turn its attention to the upcoming Big East Championships on Friday, Oct. 27. This year's competition will be held in Boston, Mass.
