Panthers Wrap Up ACC Cross Country Championships Friday Afternoon

Friday, October 29

South Bend, IN

10:10 AM

Pitt

ACC Cross Country Championships

Panthers Wrap Up ACC Cross Country Championships Friday Afternoon

10/29/2021 2:22:00 PM | Cross Country

Women's 6K Results Men's 8K Results Photo Gallery Photo Gallery

SOUTH BEND, IN – The University of Pittsburgh men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up their first postseason race of the 2021 season Friday afternoon at the ACC Championships hosted by Notre Dame and the Burke Golf Course. Senior Evan Addison and freshman Caroline Rusinski were Pitt's highest finishers in the men's 8K and women's 6K races.

The Pitt men posted an 11^th place finish in the field of 15 teams as they recorded a team score of 299, just seven points behind Louisville. Notre Dame was able to notch the team title on the men's side as they posted a team score of 32 followed by Syracuse in second place with a score of 84.

On the women's side, the Pitt women posted a 12^th place finish, a two spot improvement from a season ago and highest team finish at ACC's since 2017. They posted a team total of 373 while NC State collected their sixth straight ACC title with a team score of 20.

MEN'S 8K RECAP
Senior Evan Addison finished strong down the backstretch for the Panthers to post the highest finish on the squad as he crossed the finish line in 52^nd place overall. The Wyndmoor, PA native posted a season-best 8K time of 24:42.9. Redshirt sophomore Jack Miller finished close behind Addison in 57^th place with a time of 24:45.8 while Josh Higgins crossed the finish line in 66^th place with a new personal record 8K time of 24:51.9.

Luke Henseler had a strong showing at the conference meet for the second straight season as he took home 71^st place with a time of 24:55.9. Fellow sophomore Sam Otis posted a good race as he finished in 79^th place overall with a new personal record time of 25:05.3, breaking his old PR by 30 seconds. Ethan Maher and Tyler Rollins were each able to post personal best finishes at the ACC's as they took home 97^th and 98^th places, respectively.

Peyton Geehrer finished off his first conference championship meet in 107^th place while fellow freshmen Quinitin Gatons and Trey Gannon took home 110^th and 124^th places, respectively, on Friday.

"The men set themselves up well early with Jack Miller leading the way," said cross country coach Brad Herbster. "As the race unfolded, we looked alright at 6K but unfortunately the points we gave up in the last kilometer played a big role in our overall placement. We had some improvements and some performances that were not our best but we need to get ready to roll at NCAA regionals in two weeks."

WOMEN'S 6K RECAP
Freshman Caroline Rusinski saved her best performance of her young career for the biggest stage on Friday as she was able to pace the Panthers with the 79^th place finish. She crossed the finish line with a new personal record 6K time of 22:03.1. Sophomore Emily Brown was next to cross the line for Pitt as she notched the 82^nd place finish with a personal record time of her own, 22:11.2.

The third finisher for Pitt on Friday was freshman Emily Jobes who posted the 85^th place finish with a time of 22:16.8 while sophomore Sadie Carey-Tharp posted her personal best finish at the conference championship meet as she crossed the finish line in 93^rd place with a personal record 6K time of 22:21.6. Sophomore Olivia Zambrio was the fifth finisher for Pitt as she crossed the finish line in 102^nd place in 22:40.1. Winnie Incorvaia finished off her first appearance at ACC's in 125^th place while Mary Borkoski took home 131^st place overall in the talented field.

"Our women started the day with a strong performance led by five underclassmen," stated Herbster. "Caroline Rusinski stepped up in only her fourth cross country race ever to lead the team. The women packed up really well and competed late in the race to beat teams who have shown good consistency throughout the year. We have a lot of work to do to be where we need to be in races of this caliber but a good step with such a young group."

The Panthers will now have a week off before heading to Bethlehem, PA for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals hosted by Lehigh at the Goodman Campus Course.

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