PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Romeoville, Ill., to take part in the Lewis University Crossover Invitational Saturday (Oct. 11).
The women's six-kilometer race will begin at 9:45 a.m. (CDT) at the Lewis Cross Country Course with the men's eight-kilometer competition to follow at 10:30 a.m.

The Pitt State women enter Saturday's action ranked second in the Central Region and No. 14 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II Top 30 poll, while the Pitt State men sit second in the Central Region and No. 13 in the national poll.

Saturday's fields include 37 teams and 200+ runners. The women's race features nine nationally-ranked squads:  No. 9 Lewis, No. 10 Wash, No. 11 Fort Lewis, No. 14 Pittsburg State, No. 15 Chico State, No. 20 Tampa, No. 28 Colorado Mesa, No. 29 Palm Beach Atlantic and No. 30 Colorado Christian. The men's race includes 11 top 30 programs: No. 6 Colorado Christian, No. 8 Chico State, No. 10 Saginaw Valley State, No. 13 Pittsburg State, No. 14 Western Washington, No. 16 Lewis, No. 17 Fort Lewis, No. 18 Northwest Nazarene, No. 19 Michigan Tech, No. 21 Florida Southern, No. 28 Biola (Calif.).

The Pitt State women posted a low score of 64 points to claim the team title at the Missouri Southern State University Stampede in their last action on Sept. 20 at Joplin, Mo. Paige Mullen paced the women in the five-kilometer race with a second-place time of 17 minutes, 10.64 seconds. Hannah Gibson finished third (17:15.06) while Lorna Rae Pierce came home in ninth place (17:53.70). Phoebe Fletcher (24th, 18:37.14) and Kacie Singer (26th, 18:37.93) completed Pitt State's scored positions.

The Pitt State men placed three individuals in the top 10 to post a score of 60 points and place second at the MSSU Stampede. Tyler Atkins (5th, 23:57.07), Dylan Sprecker (6th, 24:01.40) and Nathan Hinrichs (10th, 24:05.95) all secured top 10 individual finishes. Travis Sickles (19th, 24:35.12) and Nick Kilonzo (28th, 25:12.03) completed the Gorillas scored positions.

The Lewis Crossover Invitational will serve as Pitt State's final tune-up before the 2025 MIAA Championships, which will be hosted by the Gorillas on Oct. 25 at Four Oaks Golf Course in Pittsburg.