The stage was set for the Pitt men’s cross country team to prove to the rest of the country… The stage was set for the Pitt men’s cross country team to prove to the rest of the country what it could do on a national stage.

Not only were the Panthers racing on the eventual NCAA Championship course in Terre Haute, Indiana, but were also competing against 35 teams, 17 of which are currently nationally ranked.

Unfortunately, Pitt was not quite up to the challenge last weekend.

“We missed out on a big opportunity this past weekend, it was a disappointment,” said head coach Alonzo Webb. “There’s no excuse for how we performed, but it’s all part of the learning process.”

The Pre-National Invitational was by far the most competitive race Pitt has participated in this season, and also one of the largest. So large, in fact, that all competing runners were split up into two distinct races, the Blue and the White.

Pitt competed in the White race and finished a disappointing 28th with 694 points. Iona University was the race’s winner with 100 points. Coach Webb expected the men’s results to be better.

“We aren’t used to racing against such a deep field. it was a very competitive race,” he said.

Out of a total of 243 runners, junior Sam Bair was the first Panther to cross the finish line, and did so in 4th place with a time of 24:25. The race was only Bair’s second of the season.

Finishing second for Pitt was Andy Tomaswick, who came in 145th with a time of 25:12. The finish continues Tomaswick’s streak of having scored points for the Panthers in each race this season.

Another Panther, senior Tim Konoval who was the third Panther to finish, continued a streak of his own. Crossing the line in 148th place on Saturday, Konoval has finished in the top three for the Panthers every race this season.

Freshman newcomer Lane King and senior Eric Fleming rounded out the top five. King’s performance, in particular, did not go unnoticed.

“Lane has gotten better and better each race. For a freshman he’s doing a tremendous job,” Webb said.

Despite the disappointment, Webb was upbeat about the Big East Championships.

“I’m sure we’ll bounce back from this one,” he said. “We have two weeks until the Big East championships, and I am confident we will perform well there.”

Although only the men competed at the Pre-National Invitational, the women’s team did not take the weekend off.

Instead, they stayed close to home and took part in the Carnegie Mellon Invitational in Schenley Park. The women ran a solid race, but the day belonged to George Washington University who finished first with 83 points. The Panthers came in third place.

“I thought we ran a pretty decent race,” Webb said. “We were again without three of our top five runners, so when you consider our injuries and inexperience, we did a pretty good job.”

Two Panther runners finished in the top twenty. Nikki Bielick was the first woman to cross the finish line and did so in 11th place. The other top-20 runner was Monica Bhattacharjee, who finished in 15th.

Both the men and women’s teams must now focus on the Oct. 27 Big East Championships which will be held at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. The flat course should prove to be advantageous for Pitt’s exceptional middle distance runners.