RMU Colonial Invitational
Friday, Sept. 17, 2021 • 5:00 p.m.
Youthtowne • Clinton, Pa.
 
Go The Distance
 
- The RMU men's and women's cross country teams returns to Youthtowne in Clinton, Pa., to continue its 2021 season Friday by hosting the RMU Colonial Invitational.
 
- The field for Friday's meet includes student-athletes from Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne, IUP and Pitt as well as Horizon League members Northern Kentucky and Youngstown State.
 
- The Colonials are led by Bryan Delsite, who is in his second year leading the RMU cross country and track & field programs. The 2021 cross country season is his first full year at helm for the Colonials, as two student-athletes took part in the 2021 Horizon League Championships in the spring.
 
- RMU co-hosted its 2021 season opener, the Yinzer Classic (9/3), with Carnegie Mellon, Pitt and Duquesne. The Colonials are the sole host Friday, marking the first time in program history RMU was at least a partial host in consecutive competitions.
 
- The first road meet of the 2021 campaign comes Friday, Oct. 1, when the Colonials travel to Bethlehem, Pa., to take part in the Paul Short Run, which is hosted by Lehigh.

Welcome Back – Friday's RMU Colonial Invitational marks the second competition for the RMU men's cross country team, which was reinstated as an NCAA Division I program for the Colonials in October of 2020. In its first meet as an NCAA Division I program since 2013 at the Yinzer Classic (9/3), freshman Gavin Fitzgerald posted the top time for RMU at 21:00.6 in the six-kilometer course.

Solid Debuts – Rookies Grace Mason and Carmen Medvit finished as the top two harriers for the Colonials at the Yinzer Classic (9/3), recording times of 15:41.3 and 15:43.8, respectively, in the four-kilometer course. The performances should come as no surprise, as Medvit entered her freshman season coming off a PIAA state championship, while Mason finished third at the same meet.

The Particulars – The women's six-kilometer race begins at 5:00 p.m., followed by the men's eight-kilometer race at 5:45 p.m. at Youthtowne. It is a grass course with the exception of one gravel road to cross that measures roughly 10 to 15 meters in length.

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