Cross Country Set To Play Host To First Home Meet In Over Two Decades On Friday Night

Friday, August 30

Pittsburgh, PA

6:00 PM

Pitt

Pitt Panther Opener

Cross Country Set To Play Host To First Home Meet In Over Two Decades On Friday Night

8/29/2019 12:26:00 PM | Cross Country

Live Results Course Map

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh men's and women's cross country teams will kick off their 2019 campaign on Friday evening as for the first time in over two decades they will be hosting a cross country meet at home. The Panthers will be welcoming five programs to the Carrie Blast Furnaces in Swissvale, PA for the Pitt Panther Opener.

The season-opening meet will begin at 6:00 pm with the women's 4K race and followed by the men's 6K race at around 6:55 pm. The Carrie Blast Furnaces course, one of the most unique venues in the NCAA, is a 1000m loop that will be completed four times by the women and six times by the men on Friday night.

Admission to the meet on Friday night is free and fans are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the food truck that will be present at the event.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG

Live results of Friday's race can be found on Timinginc.com.
Fans can also follow @Pitt_TF_XC on Twitter to receive information as results are made available.
A meet recap and results will be posted on PittsburghPanthers.com following the completion of the meet.

WHO ELSE WILL BE THERE

The inaugural Pitt Panthers Opener will feature a total of five teams including Pitt.
On the women's side, the four teams participating will be Bucknell, Marshall, Robert Morris and Kent State.
On the men's side, the Panthers will host Bucknell, Marshall and Kent State.

THE RETURNERS

The Pitt cross country teams will be led by a pair of seniors in Nick Wolk and Sam Shields this season. The duo were unanimously selected as team captains earlier this week.
Shields returns for her final season after putting together an impressive junior season in 2018. The Lititz, PA native became just the third Panther in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships after earning All-Region honors and posting a 10^th place finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals.
Wolk had a strong junior campaign for the Panthers last season as he was the highest finisher (47^th) at the ACC Championships while also posting a 45^th place finish in 32.33.00 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional.
On the women's side, the Panthers return nine student-athletes for the 2019 campaign. Sarah Frick and juniors Ally Brunton, Katrina Durrwachter and Sophie Lane will be looked upon to bring leadership to the talented group. Sophomores Devon Hoernlein, Emily Bonaventure, Camille Kukor and Megan Nagy will also be relied upon to make an impact this season after getting some experience as freshman a season ago.
On the men's side, the Panthers return seven runners from a season ago. Seniors Jackson Morton and Drew Glick will be relied upon heavily this year to lead a young but very talented group to new heights never achieved at Pitt. A pair of juniors in Josh Higgins and Zach Lefever will look to make a bigger impact this season while sophomores Evan Addison and Tyler Rollins look to build off strong freshman campaigns a season ago.

NEW FACES

The Panthers will welcome a total of 11 newcomers for the 2019 campaign, seven on the women's side and four on the men's side.
On the women's side, Pitt will be looking for a strong impact from Kennesaw State transfer sophomore Brenda Ayuk after she posted a 36^th place finish at the ASUN Championships a season ago.
The young and talented Panthers roster will feature six freshman as Jenna Baltes, Caroline Bolen, Mary Borkoski, Corinne Firestone, Maura Gallagher and Lily Robertson all look to make an immediate impact this season for Pitt.
On the men's side, Pitt will welcome four new runners to a team with high expectations and aspirations in 2019.
The men will welcome junior Nick Cardamone and sophomore Tyler Senall along with a pair of talented freshman in Jack Miller and Jack Wisner.

PITT IN THE 2019 PRESEASON RANKINGS

In the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason Regional Rankings, released Monday, the Pitt men were selected ninth while the women were picked 10^th.

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