A dream became a reality for freshman Curtis Larimer at the cross country team’s season… A dream became a reality for freshman Curtis Larimer at the cross country team’s season opener Saturday.

Pitt competed against Duquesne, Carnegie Mellon University, St. Bonaventure and St. Josephs at Schenley Park over the weekend. Larimer and the rest of the cross country team had their hands full.

Hailing from Colorado, Larimer excelled in the leg of the race with the most hills.

“The hills in the second part of the race worked to my advantage,” Larimer said as he struggled to catch his breath.

Finishing first among all Pitt runners, it is fair to say that Larimer’s collegiate career is off to a great start.

The men look to develop and advance as the year progresses. First-year head coach Jim Trautmann feels that the men’s cross country team is still young, but thinks that they have a lot of middle-distance runners.

“They need to adapt to long distance with time,” Trautmann said.

Although Pitt’s performance as a team didn’t live up to its expectations, Trautmann said certain individuals did stand out on Saturday. The team is going through a transitional phase. Trautmann described the changeover as being “chaotic” and said that the transition will be tough. He gives praise to his assistant coaches as well as his volunteer assistants for helping him coach the team while familiarizing himself with his new position.

“Coach Trautmann is gradually changing things,” said Maureen McCandless, who finished first among Pitt runners. “We are trying to get to know coach Trautmann as a person better.”

Finishing among the top 10 in the region last year, the women’s cross country team looks only to improve on its outstanding past. Trautmann feels that the women’s team is well rounded.

“This is the best women’s team I’ve ever worked with,” Trautmann said.

That’s an honorable remark considering Trautmann’s previous experience with cross country and track. Once a runner himself, Trautmann went on to coach for his alma mater, Notre Dame. He then advanced to start a new program at Saint Mary’s College. He proceeded to land his first full-time job at Ball State. Now the 32-year-old Central Valley, N.Y., native finds himself at the University of Pittsburgh. And, it was actually the Big East conference that brought him here.

“I’ve always wanted to coach in the Big East,” he said. “It has some of the best, if not the best, competition.”

Although Trautmann wasn’t satisfied with the team’s performance, he envisions success in the near future.

“We’ll be a late season team,” he said.

The cross country team is back in action at the Iona Meet of Champions on Sept. 27 in Van Cortland Park, N.Y.