Pitt Men Claim Victory In Season-Opening Yinzer Classic; Women Take Second

Friday, September 3

Clinton, PA

6:00 PM

Pitt

Yinzer Classic

Pitt Men Claim Victory In Season-Opening Yinzer Classic; Women Take Second

9/3/2021 10:27:00 PM | Cross Country

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CLINTON, PA – The Pitt cross country squads opened up their 2021 campaign on a high note as the men collected the victory while the women took home second place at the Yinzer Classic at the scenic Youthtowne course in Clinton, PA.

"We really appreciate the work and effort in preparing the course for tonight's meet, after the rain earlier this week, from our staff as well as the Youthtowne staff," said cross country coach Brad Herbster. "The crowd was great tonight and their support is always important and much appreciated."

The Pitt men dominated the field on Friday night as they posted a team total of 25 while Carnegie Mellon took second (34) and Youngstown State (81) placed third in the seven team field. On the women's side, Duquesne claimed the team title with a score of 35 followed by Pitt (54) in second and Youngstown State (60) in third.

Redshirt sophomore Jack Miller opened the season with a great race for the Panthers as he led wire-to-wire to secure his first collegiate victory. The Jenkintown, PA native crossed the finish line with a time of 18:47.5, nine seconds ahead of the second place finisher from Carnegie Mellon. Evan Addison was right behind Miller as he collected the third place finish in 18:56.5 while Luke Henseler notched the fifth place finish in 19:15.2 and Josh Higgins claimed sixth place in 19:21.4. Freshman Solomon Chavez had a strong showing in his collegiate debut as he posted a 10^th place finish in 19:36.7.

Ethan Maher claimed 12^th place in 19:42.9 while a trio of freshmen posted top-20 finishes as Trey Gannon finished in 16^th place, Peyton Geehrer finished in 18^th place and Alex Lombardo took home 20^th place in their first collegiate race.

"On the men's side, we need to tighten it up and fight for each other," stated Herbster. "Jack Miller had a nice race with the win but we need to work toward the goal of a 20-second spread from 1-to-4. Evan Addison had a strong finish while Luke Henseler and Josh Higgins were able to run tough for us. Solomon Chavez had a good race for his first collegiate race finishing inside the top-10. This performance was a good start to the cross country season."

Sophomore Emily Brown had a big night for the Panthers in the season opener as she was able to lead the way with a third place finish in 15:09.5. After appearing in only one meet during her first season, Brown posted a career-best time and missed second place by less than a second. Freshman Emily Jobes impressed in her first collegiate meet as she finished in sixth place with a time of 15:15.8 while Olivia Zambrio secured 12^th place in 15:26.5.

The next three finishers for the Panthers were all freshmen as Isabella Bufalini finished in 16^th place with a time of 15:35.6 while Sarah Hurst finished right behind in 17^th place in 15:36.1 and Winnie Incorvaia posted the 26^th place finish in 15:50.6. Brenda Ayuk took home 33^rd place while Sadie Carey-Tharp and Faith Min notched 36^th and 44^th place finishes, respectively.

"Emily Brown and Emily Jobes had solid runs for us tonight and when we put our five with both Emily's, we will be very good," said Herbster. "Isabella, Sarah and Olivia were all very solid for us tonight as well. We just need to continue to do what we do in practice and we will have some success this year."

Pitt will have a week off before returning to Youthtowne on September 17 for the RMU Colonial Invitational.

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