Oct. 25, 2007

The men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Louisville, Ky. on Saturday, joining 14 other teams for the Big East Championships. Hosting the event for the first time, the University of Louisville will hold the races at Tom Sawyer Park.

Saturday's race schedule will begin with the men's 8-kilometer race at 11 a.m., followed by the women's 6-kilometer race at 11:50 a.m. The awards ceremony will follow at approximately 12:30 p.m.

At last season's conference championships, the Pitt men's team finished seventh while the women finished twelfth. This year, the Panthers have four runners who will look to help the team improve on last year's marks.

Freshman Joshua Christopher (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) will look to continue his strong season. Christopher has crossed the finish line first for the Panthers in every race this season. He recorded his best finished at the Duquesne Duals on Sept. 1, coming in fourth place, and repeated his fourth-place finish at the Lock Haven Invitational on Sept. 15. His career-best time, however, came at the Paul Short Invitational on Sept. 28, where he crossed the line in 25:38.00.

Three Pitt women runners will look to build on their successful seasons as well. Alexandra Briggs (Washington, Pa./Washington), Amy Ruffolo (Wexford, Pa./Duquesne) and Anna Yoney (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) have been the first, second and third Pitt runners to cross the finish line in every race this season.

Briggs saw her best finish at the Duquesne Duals when she crossed the line second in a season-best time of 18:32.00. Ruffolo was just one second behind Briggs, finishing third with a season-best time of 18:33.00. Yoney rounded out the top four at the Duquesne Duals, capturing fourth place with a season-best time of 18:43.00.

Admission to all races is free. Shuttle transportation from the parking lot to the race site will be provided.