PITTSBURGH – In its final tune-up before the 2025 Mountain East Conference Cross Country Championships, Point Park will compete at the 23^rd annual Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Saturday morning. The event will be run at Youthtowne Fields in Clinton, Pa., with the men's 8k race set for 10 a.m. and the women's 5k race slated for a 10:45 a.m. start.
 
The Pioneers have been idle since Sept. 27 at the 24^th annual Lock Haven Invitational, where both teams placed ninth in the final team standings. The Pioneer women were led by Cassondra O'Connor in the 6k race, placing third with a time of 21:38.10.
 
The men were led at Lock Haven by Elijah Bechdel. The sophomore placed 34^th in the 8k race with a time of 25:34.5. Junior Luke McKenna finished five spots back in 39^th place with a time of 25:42.3.
 
Saturday will be Point Park's second trip to Youthtowne Fields this season. Back on Sept. 12, Point Park competed at the RMU Invitational, with the Pioneers women finishing in sixth place and the men taking seventh.
 
O'Connor led the Pioneers at the Colonial Invitational, finishing seventh in the 6k race with a personal-best time of 21:21.5. Men's cross country was led by McKenna at the RMU Invitational, turning in a time of 25:34.0 in the 8k race.
 
Both Point Park cross country teams ranked 10^th in this week's USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Rankings.
 
Visit the links above for complete coverage of Saturday's race at Youthtowne Fields.