It has been the “Sam and Nicki Showcase” all season long – the Pitt cross country team’s best… It has been the “Sam and Nicki Showcase” all season long – the Pitt cross country team’s best male and female runners have led their team in every major race of the season. It was only fitting, then, that on the day their teams needed them most, the two were in front once again, this time running their way into the Pitt record books.

Sam Bair and Nicki Angstadt achieved top-25 performances at this weekend’s Big East Championships at Van Cortlandt Park, finishing 12th and 17th, respectively. Bair became the first male runner to break into the top 25 at the conference championship in over a decade with a time of 24:55, 14 seconds faster than his finish at the Meet of Champions – held at the same course – earlier this season.

“I’m pretty happy,” Bair said on PittsburghPanthers.com, “but now it’s time to collect myself and get ready for Regionals.”

“Sam achieved all-Big East status and knocked off about 15 seconds from his previous time on that course, but he had expected to finish higher,” head coach Alonzo Webb said.

Behind Bair were Tim Konoval in 34th place with a time of 25:48 and Mike Long in 44th with a time of 26:06.

“I was glad I was able to contribute and help the team,” Long said.

Steve Gonzalez and Jesse Mang stepped up, as well, contributing to the teams’ second-straight seventh-place finish. Despite competing with only six runners, Pitt finished six places behind the champion Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who won both the men’s and women’s championships in convincing fashion.

“If everyone were healthy I would have expected a top-three finish from the guys,” Webb said. “Yet with five new teams in the conference and all the injuries we have suffered, to come in the same position as last year is pretty good.”

The Pitt women also ran well, posting an eighth-place finish.

“I was really, really pleased with how the women ran,” Webb said.

Angstadt finished with a time of 22:00, nearly a full minute improvement from her time at Van Cortlandt earlier this season.

“I’ve been feeling better the last two weeks, and everything is starting to finally come together for me and the team,” Angstadt said at PittsburghPanthers.com.

Coach Webb was also impressed with her performance.

“Nicki had one of her best races,” he said. “No one ever even gave her a chance to be an NCAA qualifier before, but the way she is running now, she has an outside chance.”

Also contributing for the women were sophomores Ali Briggs, who finished in 54th with a time of 23:04, Suzy Bossart (55th, 23:06) and Abby Zaylor (63rd, 23:28). Freshman Monica Bhattacharjee rounded out the Panthers’ top five.

While their collective finishes nearly mirror those of last season, they are actually an improvement because of the Big East’s growth. The addition of new teams has brought some tough new competitors to the field, but Webb anticipated his team’s showing.

“I expected them to compete as well as they did,” Webb said of his team’s performance. “They always pull it together at Big East time.”

With the conference championship now behind them, the team will focus its efforts on the NCAA Regional Championships to be held on Saturday, Nov. 12 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. In the Panthers’ last trip to Lehigh, Bair captured a second-place finish, defeating a number of regional competitors. A similar performance could earn Bair an NCAA berth.

“I feel really good about Sam’s chances at Regionals, especially since he ran that course so well before,” Webb said. “He is such a great competitor.”