Men’s cross country team wins home invitational

On Saturday, the men’s cross country team won its home invitational, taking the top team score among 23 teams with 31 points. Duquesne University took second place with 56 points, while George Washington University placed third with 84 points.

The meet took place in Schenley Park, and the Carnegie Mellon runners thrived in the ideal weather conditions and the support of a home crowd and alumni. Carnegie Mellon men’s cross country alumni also fielded a team for a race, placing ninth overall with 270 points.

Unattached runner Christopher Clark won the individual race and set a new course record with a time of 25:01.35.

The Tartans saw four runners finish in the top 10. Junior Brian Harvey led the team to finish second overall with a time of 25:39.96. Master’s student Geoff Misek placed fourth overall with a time of 25:56.20.

Junior Breck Fresen and junior Ryan Anderson took seventh and eighth overall with times of 26:06.45 and 26:08.28, respectively.

Senior Mark Tressler took 15th with a time of 26:22.76. Behind Tressler, sophomore Dario Donatelli (26:22.76) and junior Mike Condon (26:52.76) finished 28th and 29th overall, respectively.

First-year J.P. Allera placed 30th overall with a time of 26:56.33. First-year Dan Addis and sophomore Chris Rizzo finished 36th and 37th overall with times of 27:05.80 and 27:06.43, respectively.

Senior Jason Jura rounded out the top 11 runners for the Tartans by taking 44th overall with a time of 27:09.44.

“I was very excited to see the team run well. We have had high expectations this year and until now we have yet to have a significant team showing,” Jura said. “I was glad to end my cross country career on a strong performance, but it’s always hard knowing I was only three seconds from moving on to [the] conference championships, which I have run all three years previous to this.”

The top 10 runners will compete at the University Athletic Association championships Saturday, Oct. 27. The championships will be held at Brandeis University.

On the women’s side, Carnegie Mellon finished 10th out of 20 teams with 237 points. Indiana University of Pennsylvania won the 5K race with 53 points, while Baldwin-Wallace College took third place with 76 points.

Junior Carolyn Clayton (20:11.41) once again led the Tartans to finish 32nd overall. First-year Rebecca Hachey and sophomore Anna Lenhart took 42nd and 52nd overall with times of 20:22.59 and 20:39.99, respectively.

First-year Kristen Staab finished 58th overall with a time of 20:52.19, while seniors Ashley Bakelmun and Erin Gagnon took 77th and 83rd overall with times of 21:33.86 and 21:39.21, respectively.

Junior Chrissy Krutz placed 85th overall with a time of 21:42.62. First-year Laura McKee rounded out Carnegie Mellon’s top eight and finished 90th overall with a time of 21:51.55.

“It felt great to run at home. There were so many family members and friends there — all cheering and encouraging us during the race. It made it a lot easier to run,” Bakelmun said. “It’s always nice to see the alumni at the meet. They give us some good competition.”

The women’s top 10 will join the men’s team at Brandeis in two weeks.