The Pitt-Greensburg men's and women's cross country teams continued to make progress Saturday, with the Bobcat men placing third overall and several runners on both sides producing strong individual performances at the Mountie Invitational.
The Pitt-Greensburg men finished third with 71 points, behind California (Pa.) and Penn State Altoona. Edir Sid Mohand led the Bobcats with a fourth-place overall finish in 19:07.4.
Sid Mohand stayed near the front of the field alongside California (Pa.)'s leading runners and was the first NCAA Division III runner across the finish line.
"Edir raced at the front with the team from Cal U and had another impressive race," head coach Jeremy Eshleman said. "He finished fourth overall and was the No. 1 runner from a Division III school."
Behind Sid Mohand, Anthony Zona and David Brokaw found themselves in a tightly contested group fighting for the final individual award positions. Just 30 seconds separated eighth through 14th place.
Zona emerged from the group with a 10th-place finish in 20:43.0, earning the final award spot. Brokaw wasn't far behind, taking 13th in 20:49.4.
"Tony and Dave were locked into a tough battle for the final award spots," Eshleman said. "Eighth through 14th were separated by 30 seconds. Tony got the final award with a 10th-place finish, and Dave ended up 13th."
Conor Haines and Chase Morris completed Pitt-Greensburg's scoring five. Haines finished 26th in 29:03.5, while Morris placed 28th in 30:52.4. The Bobcats' five scoring positions of 4, 9, 12, 22 and 24 gave them 71 points and a third-place team finish.
On the women's side, the Bobcats finished sixth with 113 points while showing progress despite competing without their captain.
"The women raced well as a team today even with losing our captain Vic for a week," Eshleman said. "Our top four, led by Jocelyn, all ran a faster pace than they raced last week."
Jocelyn Bielak led Pitt-Greensburg with a 16th-place finish, crossing the line in 28:53.3.
One of the strongest stretches of the race for the Bobcats came from Carinna Darragh, Elaina Funk and Nadia Salifu Ahmed, who crossed the finish line consecutively. Darragh placed 21st in 30:39.9, Funk was 22nd in 30:45.3, and Salifu Ahmed followed in 23rd at 30:46.6. Less than seven seconds separated the trio.
"Carinna, Elaina and Nadia all pushed each other today and worked well together," Eshleman said.
Madison Martino rounded out the Bobcats' scoring five with a 32nd-place finish in 35:05.4, while Caroline Davis finished 38th in 49:41.3.
Pitt-Greensburg now turns its attention to its home invitational next week, which will also serve as Senior Day for Zona and Brokaw.
"Next week is the home invite and Senior Day for Tony and Dave," Eshleman said.
