W&J SWEEPS INDIVIDUAL TITLES AT UPG INVITATIONAL; ROBERTS RAISES AWARENESS FOR OVARIAN CANCER (10/1)

GREENSBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Scott Ryan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) won the men’s 8K race and freshman Kristen Galligan (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) claimed the 6K women’s event to highlight Washington and Jefferson College on Saturday at the Ninth Annual Pitt-Greensburg Cross Country Invitational at the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds.

Ryan won the men’s invitational in a field of 85 runners with a time of 26:56.  It was his second victory of the season after winning the Waynesburg Invitational last month.  Richard Peterson of Thiel was the runner-up, 47 seconds behind Ryan.

Galligan also continued her strong rookie season by topping the 112-runner women’s field with a time of 23:30.  Joanna Mangelluzo of Bethany was second at 24:27.

W&J sophomore Haley Roberts (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) also placed 92nd in the event with a time of 34:27.  Due to Roberts’ determination and behind-the-scenes work, runners from all teams donned teal ribbons, the symbol of ovarian cancer awareness.  Roberts was diagnosed with ovarian cancer as a junior in high school and has been cancer-free since surgery removed the tumour.  She worked hard to use Saturday’s event as a way to spread the word about the dangers of ovarian cancer.

Geneva won the women’s team competition with 63 points.  Thiel was second with 80 followed by Bethany (91), Franciscan (116), W&J (117), Pitt-Johnstown (123), Chatham (137), California (213), Point Park (231), Hiram (261), Pitt-Greensburg (269) and Mt. Aloysius (272).

The men’s invitational was won by Thiel with 29 points.  Geneva was second with 61 points and W&J was third with 71.  Hiram (105), Point Park (127), Franciscan (128), Penn State-Allegheny (207), Mt. Aloysius (232) and Pitt-Greensburg (237) rounded out the standings.

Following behind Ryan in the men’s race was junior Benjamin Kopchick (Clarksburg, Pa./Saltsburg), who placed 11th with a time of 29:30, while freshman Joshua Makepeace (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) turned in an 18th-place showing (30:09).  Freshman Thomas Marcotte (Plainville, Mass./Bishop Feehan) was 26th (31:13) and sophomore Ronald Graf (Pittsburgh, Pa./South Park) placed 30th (31:23).

On the women’s side, sophomore Kia Ruhkamp (Laura, Ohio/Milton-Union) was close behind Galligan in third place with a time of 25:09.  Her third-place finish was a career-best performance.

Sophomore Nicole Montecalvo (Berwick, Pa./Berwick) collected a time of 28:03 to notch 24th place, while classmate Atoosha Hashemi (Fullerton, Calif./Sunny Hills) notched 46th place (30:03).  Senior Liann Correia (Marion, Mass./Old Rochester) also recorded a top-60 finish in 59th place at 30:47.

W&J returns to action next week in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational.