Joey Sykes | The Duquesne Duke
Redshirt sophomore Bob Gasior finished first for the Dukes. The Duquesne men’s and women’s cross country teams both swept their meet Saturday.
For the third year in a row, the Duquesne men’s and women’s cross country teams dominated the Duquesne Duals at Schenley Oval on a humid Saturday last weekend.
Both the men’s and women’s teams came away with wins against crosstown rivals Pitt, Carnegie Mellon and Robert Morris as well as Saint Vincent College and Youngstown State. The first four winners of the men’s 8-kilometer race were all from Duquesne. Redshirt sophomore Bob Gasior was the first runner to cross the finish line with a time of 26:07. Aaron Wilkinson finished second at 26:14, Evan Gomez at 26:20 and Alex Woodrow at 26:20.
Gaisor, the A-10 men’s Performer of the Week, was happy with the team’s finish.
“I think we all performed pretty well,” Gasior said. “We had the mindset of going out strong. I expect us to get stronger and for the younger guys to really step up and run better.”
On the women’s side, graduate student Carly Seymour took first place with a time of 18:03. Seymour, who has been cleared for a six-year eligibility, finished 29 seconds in front of second place runner Hannah Scipio who finished with a time of 18:32. Freshman Megan Baritot finished third at 18:32 followed by Kendall Seymour at 18:34.
Carly Seymour, named the A-10 women’s Performer of the Week believes the meet was a strong sign of things to come.
“I think we did well but I just think that everybody has come to believe we can go for an A-10 title,” Seymour said. “I think that is our main goal and I really think we can do it.”
Coach Tom Slosky agrees.
“I see us getting first place and winning the A-10 Championship,” Slosky said. “I see an individual title on the women’s side and I see a team title for both the men and women as well.”
Slosky was also excited to see the season begin and believes the Dukes are prepared for whatever comes this season.
“We are looking promising on the men’s side,” Slosky said. “Dallas [North] should be back in a few weeks and on the women’s side, we’re stacked. We are ready to go.”
The Dukes made a big addition this offseason acquiring three-year letterman, Dallas North from the University of Michigan. North, who will also compete in track and field, has been granted one-year eligibility for both sports.
North isn’t the only fresh face to be added to this year’s roster. The men’s team will add seven new runners, all with plenty of experience including two-time Pennsylvania champion Rico Galassi. The women will add eight new runners including four- time state qualifier Jenny Del Signore and three-time state qualifier Kaitlyn Figurelli.
The men’s team, who took fifth last year in the A-10, were picked to finish two places higher this year at third, behind La Salle and Saint Joseph’s. The women are predicted to finish fourth, three places better than last year. All preseason predictions were done by A-10 coaches.
Slosky has a simple goal he believes the men and women will accomplish at the end of this year.
“I see gold for both the men and women.”
The Dukes will head to the University of Richmond to compete in the Spider Alumni Open this Friday at 5:30 p.m.
