In their first meet of the season, the Pitt cross-country team proved there are no local teams… In their first meet of the season, the Pitt cross-country team proved there are no local teams in their class. Last weekend, they found out how competitive they can be at the national level.

The Panthers spent their weekend in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y., for the Iona Meet of Champions. The meet was hosted by Iona College and their seventh-ranked men’s cross country team, and featured many of the top running programs throughout the country. Although the Pitt runners admitted they did not run their best meet, the men’s team still finished an impressive seventh out of 25 schools, and the women placed eighth out of 24.

“Both teams competed pretty well,” said head coach Alonzo Webb. “We expect to see continued improvement every week.”

The men were dealt an early blow when they learned they would have to run without one of their top runners, junior Eric Fleming, who is recovering from an injury. Despite the loss of one of the “pack” members, the men turned in a very strong performance. For the second-straight meet, sophomore Sam Bair crossed the finish line first for the Panthers, finishing 11th overall with a time of 25:09.7. Bair has developed into the best runner on the men’s team.

“I felt a little flat and a little tired,” explained Bair on PittsburghPanthers.com. “But I know I can run with some of those guys.”

Not far behind Bair were juniors Tim Konoval and Andy Tomaswick who finished in 35th and 49th places, respectively. Among the teams the men defeated were Big East opponents Connecticut and South Florida.

“The men train hard together and push each other,” said Webb. “This means as one guy improves, he pushes the others to do as well.”

The Panther women also ran well. Their top runner was senior Nicki Angstadt who ended in 32nd place with a time of 32:57.7.

“I think we’ve got a good idea what’s in store for the Big East Championships,” Angstadt said on PittsburghPanthers.com. Also contributing for the Panthers were sophomores Ali Briggs and Suzy Bossart, who finished in 56th and 64th places, respectively.

Coach Webb stated the meet was important for the young Panthers because it was their first large meet away from home. In addition to the youngsters, Webb felt that the race was important for the whole team as well because the Iona course will also be the site of the 2005 Big East Championship meet.

“It was a good opportunity for our young runners to familiarize themselves with the course in preparation for the Championships,” said Webb.

Coach Webb said his team has progressed well in the first few meets, but did indicate that in order to be successful, the Panthers must remain healthy and keep a cohesive “pack” in tact.

The Panthers next meet, the Paul Short Invitational, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 1 in Lehigh Pa. Like the Iona meet, the Paul Short Invitational will include numerous top teams and will test the character of the Panthers. Of additional importance, the NCAA Regional Championship meet will take place at the same location at the end of the season.