Cross Country: Muddy track leads to poor performances

A muddy track in Bethlehem, Pa., led to disappointing performances by Pitt’s men’s and… A muddy track in Bethlehem, Pa., led to disappointing performances by Pitt’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams at the Paul Short Invitational on Friday.

“The race did not exactly take place in the most ideal conditions, and I think some of the guys were affected by the mud more than others,” senior Josh Christopher said.

More than 230 teams from across the nation participated, and the men’s team finished in 41st, and the women placed 23rd.

“The race did not go as well as we had planned,” senior Teddy Miller said. “The team was hoping to do better as a whole. We had some individuals run pretty well, but we did not come together as a team and accomplish as much as we wanted to.”

Christopher led the 8k event with a time of 25:23, with Miller only a second behind.

“I’m pleased with my progress so far and was glad to be able to run alongside Teddy in this race,” Christopher said. “However, the times we ran were not quite what we wanted as a result of the conditions.”

Miller had a similar experience.

“Individually, I did not run as well as I wanted to,” he said. “I had higher hopes for myself. I didn’t have a bad race, but didn’t do as well as I thought I was going to do.

“I was happy with my previous two races, so this was a bit of a letdown.”

Finishing in the top five for the Panthers were Kevin Hull, Andrew Cerrito and Vinnie DePalma.

“Our third through fifth runners have what it takes to help the team place higher, but on this particular day they struggled to get in the mix with many of the teams which we had a shot at beating,” Christopher said.

Freshman Susannah Feinstein once again led the way for the women’s team. In the 6k run, she posted a time of 23:26 and finished 76th overall. Elesia Wilson, Stephanie Powers and Miya Johnson also turned in solid performances.

Emily Barno finished 92nd with a time of 23:33.

“It’s just one race, and I think I can get back on track in two weeks at Penn State. I know I am still in better shape than I was earlier in the season, I just didn’t show it in the race,” Miller said.

The team will compete in the CMU Invitational held at Schenley Park Saturday.