McKeesport, Pa. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Cross Country team is back in action on Saturday as they compete with all the schools from around the Penn State University Athletic Conference in the 2017 PSUAC Men’s Cross Country Championships being held at Norlo Park near the campus of Penn State Mont Alto.
Sophomore runner Fernando Leira (Madrid, Spain/Great Mills (md.)) leads the PSUGA Cross Country team and has ran some of his best races of his career this season. In the three races that PSUGA has competed in, Leira has finished in at least the top 20 in all of those races. His 8 kilometer times keep getting better and better as the season goes on as he set his new personal best in the last meet at Frostburg State back on September 30th with a time of 31:40 and a 19th overall finish.
The advantage for Leira and the PSUGA Cross Country team is the fact that they have ran this course once already this season. It was at the Mont Alto Invitational back on September 23rd when Leira came in sixth overall, fourth in the PSUAC field, with a time of 24:13. The only difference is that in that race, the distance was cut from an 8K to a 6K due to the intense heat that was sweeping across Western Pennsylvania.
This time, however, there will be no break from the heat with temperatures set to be in the mid to upper 50’s. Leira has been working all season for this race and is looking for a strong showing. Freshman Luke Medich (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport) will also be running in tomorrow’s event looking to have a strong performance. Medich finished 28th overall at the PSUGA invitational back on September 15th with a time of 48:49.
The 2017 PSUAC Men’s Cross Country Championships are set to begin at 10 a.m. in Norlo Park located by the campus of Penn State Mont Alto.