McKeesport, Pa. – The Penn State Greater Allegheny Cross Country team gets set to continue their season when they run at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Saturday at 10 a.m. They will be facing off against teams from all levels of NCAA including Division I, II, and III athletes.
For sophomore runner Fernando Leira (Madrid, Spain/Great Mills (md.)) it will be a chance to show what he can do against some of the best runners in all of the NCAA. Leira’s last run was at the Frostburg State Invitational where he posted his best time of the season running the eight kilometer race in 31:40, good for 19th overall in the field of 60 runners.
Leira beat his previous best time by one minute and eight seconds when he ran a 32:48 at the Penn State Greater Allegheny Invitational just 14 days earlier. He continues to improve with each race and ready’s himself for the Penn State University Athletic Conference Championships that will be held in Norlo Park in Fayetteville, Pa. on October 28th. One thing he really wants to focus on is running hills and getting better in that aspect.
Two teams out of the PSUAC will be competing at the meet on Saturday as PSU-Fayette will join PSUGA. The rest of the field looks like this:
Carlow Pitt Greensburg
Carnegie Mellon Pitt Johnstown
Carnegie Mellon Alum PSU-Fayette
Community College of Beaver County PSU-Greater Allegheny
Davis & Elkins Salem International
Duquesne Seton Hill
IUP Shippensburg
Kent State-Tuscarawas Slippery Rock
La Roche Saint Vincent
Lake Erie Waynesburg
The Carnegie Mellon Invitational is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. This is the final tune-up for PSUGA cross country before they run in the PSUAC Championships on Oct. 28th.