PITTSBURGH – For the second-consecutive season, the Point Park men's and women's cross country teams will open the 2025 season at the West Liberty Invitational. The event is set for Thursday evening at the Bethany College Cross Country Course in Bethany, West Virginia.
 
The women's 5k race is slated for 5 p.m., followed by the men's 6k at 6 p.m.
 
PPU Cross Country Notebook

• The Pioneer women took fourth-place out of nine teams at last year's West Liberty Invitational. The Pioneers had three top-25 individual finishers at the event, led by a first-place finish from Cassondra O'Connor with a time of 18:59.
• O'Connor went on to total three first-place finishes a season ago, garnering MEC Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year accolades. In the MEC championship 6k race, O'Connor finished runner-up.
• The Pioneers were voted sixth in this fall's MEC Preseason Poll, while checking in at No. 7 in the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Poll announced earlier this week.
• The Point Park women finished third at MEC Cross Country Championship last October.
• In additional to O'Connor, the Pioneers welcome a trio of transfers to the roster this fall in Anna Babinyecz (Tulsa), Alana Dyce-Giraud (Frostburg State) and Zabine von Westernhagen (Coastal Carolina).
• The Point Park men finished seventh at last fall's MEC Championship.
• The Pioneer men will be led by first team All-MEC selection Luke McKenna in 2025. McKenna finished ninth at the MEC Championship a season ago.
• In all, McKenna turned in four top-10 finishes in 2024, including a third-place finish at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, a fourth-place finish at the West Liberty Invitational, and a fifth-place finish at the Greater Louisville Classic.
• The Pioneer men took fourth place at last year's West Liberty Invitational, getting a fourth-place individual finish from McKenna.