Historic day as Fayette XC hosts first-ever invitational

"It was a great day with we had 11 teams and besides the rain and mud, the event went well," said cross-country head coach Joe Carei. "It was the first time we had a college invitational on campus.

"We finished fourth overall and was the top PSUAC school."

Nyoah Marteny (Perryopolis, PA/Frazier) was the top Fayette runner as he finished eighth in the 8k with a time of 28:27.7 which was good for a pace of 5:41 per mile.

"Nyoah had a great race to continue his solid season," Carei said.

Drew Erdman (Greensburg, PA/Greensburg Salem HS) finished 17^th with a time of 29:03.8, Devin Pisarski (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville HS) finished 21^st with a time of 29:26, Aaron Mylan (Rices Landing, PA/Jefferson-Morgan HS) finished 24^th with a time of 29:35.7, Michael Elliot (Clarksville, PA/Beth-Center HS) finished with a time of 29:59.5, Stephen Lacek (Fort Cherry, PA/Fort Cherry HS), 30:05.6, and Mitchell Minda (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward HS) finished 33^rd with a time of 30:59.6.

The team finished with a team score of 98, and a total team time of 2:26:32.6.

Carei spoke about what lies ahead for the team.

"It's all coming together now," he said. "We saw some big personal records and solid racing by the guys.

"We are looking forward to the PSUAC Championships, but we have some hard work to do in the meantime."

Fayette Athletic Director Lou Zadecky spoke about the meet.

"This is an event that we were anticipating since Coach Carei rejuvenated the cross-country program four years ago," Zadecky said. "Never could I have imagined how fantastic it would turn out to be.

"I am so proud of our coaches and cross-country team and what they did to compete and pull this invitational off."

Written by Bill Hughes