The Pitt-Greensburg cross country teams made the most of their home course advantage at the Fall Classic on Saturday at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds, with the women's team earning a second-place trophy and the men battling through heat and hills for a strong third-place finish.

Women's Team Brings Home Hardware

Led by Trinity Lockwood-Morris, who placed sixth overall and earned an individual award, the Bobcat women put together a gritty performance on their home turf. Trinity's 29:23 finish paced the team, while Jocelyn Bielak and Victoria Maher engaged in a competitive battle for the team's second scoring spot, finishing just 39 seconds apart.

Senior Laura Vittone showed her experience and determination, shaving two minutes off her time from last year's race on the same course. Caroline Davis, Carinna Darragh, and Denise Garcia rounded out the effort, each contributing to the team's second-place finish.

"I'm really proud of the women's team bringing home the trophy for second place," said Head Coach Jeremy Eshleman. "Every runner battled our home course and the heat for their races, and I'm excited to see what they can do on the easier courses we have coming up."

Men's Team Battles Heat and Hills

The men's team faced rising temperatures and a challenging course layout but still managed a third-place team finish. David Brokaw led the way with a gutsy performance, finishing in 33:17 and narrowly missing a medal by just one second in a sprint to the line.

William Vaughn and Thomas Murawski followed with strong efforts, while Koen Fulton and Charlie Caputo rounded out the scoring five.

"Dave fought hard and it came down to a sprint finish for the final medal," Eshleman said. "Unfortunately, he missed it by one second, but the effort was all there."

With the home meet behind them, both teams now look ahead to upcoming races on faster, flatter courses where they hope to build on this weekend's momentum. They will race again next Saturday at the Mt. Aloysius Invitational.