DAVIS, W.Va. – For much of the season, Maureen McCandless has registered solid performances… DAVIS, W.Va. – For much of the season, Maureen McCandless has registered solid performances for Pitt’s cross country team.

However, two weeks ago at the Big East Championships, McCandless left Boston shaking her head in disgust. After her 24th place finish in the Big East, McCandless was hungry for another shot at some of the Big East competition.

“We told Maureen that she shouldn’t pay attention to her place in the Big East because we have the toughest conference in the country,” coach Waddie Freeman said,

The Big East performance served as a motivator for McCandless, and when she stepped to the line on Saturday in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship, she wasn’t going to hold anything back.

Despite the sloppy conditions at the Canaan Valley Resort golf course, McCandless ran into the national spotlight, giving her the rematch that she was in search of.

As a sophomore, McCandless became the first woman runner in Pitt’s history to qualify for the NCAA Championship race when she dashed to a sixth place finish overall in a time of 21 minutes, three seconds, thus granting her an automatic bid into the race.

McCandless’ finish was the second highest finish by any Panther in the regional race and marked the first time that Pitt would send a representative to the national championship race since the early 1990s.

“The hardest thing is just getting into the NCAA race,” Freeman said. “If she goes out and runs like she did this weekend, anything is possible because she has already raced on this course and that should give her some confidence.”

Throughout the race, McCandless maintained her position within the top 10 runners.

But as the race drew near the finish, McCandless seemed to find another gear as she dashed toward the finish line. Her late surge placed her less than a second out of fourth and assured her of a place in Pitt history.

Following behind McCandless’ historic performance was Rachel Rothe in a time of 23:29. Rothe’s time was good enough for an 81st place finish. Following behind Rothe was junior Dawn Hilgert, who raced to a 119th place finish in a time of 24:24.

“This race gave Dawn another year of experience which should help the team in the future,” Freeman added.

On the heels of Hilgert came freshman Kelly O’Connell, in a time of 24:27 for a 121st place finish overall. Rounding out the top five for Pitt was Nicola Angstadt who ran to a 137th place finish in a time of 25:12.

Overall, the women finished 15th out of the 27 competing teams.

“This race was a first time experience for most of our team and as a whole I think we performed well,” Freeman noted. “Rachel, Kelly and Nicola each ran good races and it was a great experience for them.”

In the men’s race, junior Mike Diano navigated the 10-kilometer course in a time of 33:16, which earned him the top spot for the Panthers and a 98th place finish overall.

Continuing his consistent performances, Nick Westerman followed close behind Diano in a time of 33:40 for a 113th place finish.

“Mike turned in a solid performance to lead the way for us today and Nick has been a steady top three runner all year,” Freeman said.

Junior Dan Hull completed the rain-soaked course in 115th place in a time of 33:43, which ends his streak of three straight races as number one for Pitt.

“Dan has done a good job all year and has really carried the team this year.” Freeman added.

Finishing fourth for Pitt and 140th overall was Jeryl Wilborn in a time of 34:43. Then completing the top five for Pitt was Thomas Kress in a time of 35:32, which earned him a 150th place finish.

“As a team the men placed about where they did last year with a lot of new faces,” Freeman said, as the men finished 20th out of 26 teams.

McCandless will return to action Nov. 25 in Terre Haute, Ind., at the NCAA Championship race.

“It’s a great accomplishment for her, and I see a lot of good things for her because she’s such a great student of the sport and her career is now really starting to take off.” Freeman said.