Cross country teams take fourth in first meet

On Saturday, Sept. 1, Carnegie Mellon’s cross country teams made their season debut at the Duquesne Duals in Schenley Park. Although only half the men’s team ran in Saturday’s race, they still finished fourth out of eight teams in the 8K race. Duquesne University won the men’s overall title. The women’s team also finished fourth out of seven teams, while the University of Pittsburgh came in first.

For the men’s team, junior Mike Condon led the Tartans with a time of 27:48. Condon finished 24th overall. Behind Condon, first-year Justin Kurp and sophomore Chris Rizzo placed 25th and 29th overall with times of 27:52 and 28:02, respectively.

“During the race, a couple upperclassmen [led] the pack of freshmen to help us ease into the new racing environment. Their guidance helped a lot,” Kurp said.

Senior Dan Carmody finished 31st overall with a time of 28:06, while junior Raphael Bertrand took 35th place with a time of 28:14. First-years Jonathan Matusky and Erik Kallenbach also had strong races, finishing 42nd and 43rd overall with times of 28:39 and 29:40, respectively. Senior Doug Fricker finished
48th overall with a time of 28:55.48.

“My expectations are high for our team. A lot of guys from last year’s nationally rank[ed] team are returning and we have a few talented incoming freshmen,” Kurp said. “I think we’ll definitely place high at nationals — we should be in the top 10, but top five is in our reach as well.”

The men’s team was recently ranked 14th in Division III by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

On the women’s side, senior Ashley Bakelmun led the team and finished 20th overall with a time of 20:22. First-years Kristen Staab (20:44) and Rebecca Hachey (20:52) had strong first showings. They finished 27th and 29th overall, respectively.

Sophomore Anna Lenhart took 36th overall with a time of 21:08, while senior Erin Gagnon placed 42nd overall with a time of 21:22. Behind Gagnon, junior Chrissy Krutz finished 44th overall with a time of 21:33.

First-year Laura McKee (21:51) and junior Rachel Perry (23:27) placed 45th and 57th overall, respectively. First-year Amal El-Ghazaly took 60th with a time of 23:27.
On Saturday, the Carnegie Mellon cross country teams will return to action at the IUP Invitational in Indiana, Pa.