MADISON, Wisc. --  Matt Strangio ran an intelligent race, moving up through every phase of the race to finish 38th overall (23:40.3) at the Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational at Thomas Zimmer Championship Course on Friday morning. Strangio's performance helped pull the Pilots to a 11th place finish overall against many of the best teams in the nation.

Their 11th place finish was also five places higher than their finish at the same invitational last year. The Pilot men also defeated nine ranked teams in the process, including No. 9 Syracuse, No. 10 North Carolina, and No.11 Iowa State.

Strangio was followed by Bradley Peloquin 43rd (23:41.3), Jakob Kintzele in 65th (23:52.8), Zak Kirk in 82nd (23:58.5) and Nolan Hosbein in 142nd (24:20.5) to round out the scoring five. Jonas Gertsen in 148th (24:22.8) and Ahmed Sado in 152nd (24:23.8) also competed for the Pilots.

Head coach Rob Conner said that today was a great team effort and something that everyone feels good about. He added that the top four, "...were close together and all ran substantial pr's on this course." He added that, "We just need our fifth man a little closer and we will have a great team."  Coach Conner's overall takeaway from that meet was that, "The guys laid the foundation for a great season. This is a positive spot to build on."

For the women, Laura Pellicoro crossed the line in 32th-place, making her the Pilot's top finisher. In her last 2000 meter split, Pellicoro passed a total of 27 people to break into the top-35. Her time of 20:23.2 was 25 seconds faster than her time last year, and aided in the Pilot women's 33rd place finish overall.

Courtney Klatt passed 29 others throughout the last split on her way to finish 122nd overall, clocking in with a time of 21:01.4. Mie Nielsen was next in 175th (21:24.1), followed by Sam Prusse in 201st (21:39.0) and Phoebe McKnight in 243rd (22:20.3) to close out the scoring five for the Pilots women. Additionally, Teresa Perez in 252nd (22:33.6) and Stina Pettersson in 258th (22:55.1) also competed for the Pilots.

Both teams will race again tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Lewis & Clark XC Invite in Estacada, Ore. The women's 6K is set for a 10:15 a.m. start, with the men's 8K to follow at 11:00 a.m.

Women's Team Results—6K
1. No. 1 North Carolina State 80
2. No. 2 NC State 80
3. No. 4 Northern Arizona 244
4. No. 5 BYU 188
5. No. 10 Notre Dame 257
6. No. 11 North Carolina 280
7. No. 8 Stanford 265
8. No. 12 Utah 268
9. No. 7 Colorado 306
10. No. 13 Georgetown 310
11. No. 21 Oregon 363
12.No. 17 Toledo 500
13. No. 15 Syracuse 506
14. No. 28 Wisconsin 506
15. No. 16 Providence 511
16. No. 9 Washington 515
17. No. 22 Colorado State 518
18. No.17  Michigan State 530
19. No. 14 Arkansas 533
20. No.19 Utah Valley 544
21. Michigan 545
22. No. 24 Furman 556
23. Air Force 567
24. No. 24 Florida State 588
25. Indiana 620
26. Oregon State 626
27. Iowa State 631
28. Utah State 647
29. No. 30 Harvard 652
30. Boise State 663
31. Princeton 672
32. Duke 676
33. Portland 752
34. (RV) Minnesota 789
35. Tulsa 885
36. Gonzaga 977

Portland Individual Women
32. Laura Pellicoro (20:23.2)
122. Courtney Klatt (21:01.5)
175. Mie Gam Nielsen (21:24.1)
201. Samantha Prusse (21:39.0)
243. Phoebe McKnight (22:20.3)
252. Teresa Perez (22:33.6)
258. Stina Pettersson (22:55.1) PR*

Men's Team Results—8K
1. No. 2 Stanford 54
2. No. 1 BYU 89
3. No. 3 NAU 143
4. No.12  Air Force 149
5. No. 13 Notre Dame 186
6. No.5 Tulsa 214
7. No.6 Wisconsin 221
8.No.8 Colorado 225
9. No. 17 Villanova 343
10. NC State 366
11. (RV) Portland 367
12. No.24 Oregon 368
13. No.9 Syracuse 370
14. No.10 North Carolina 384
15. No.26 Washington 398
16. Utah State 443
17. No.28 Georgetown 457
18. Colorado St. 475
19. Duke 495
20. Michigan 526
21. No. 20 Harvard 538
22. No. 11 Iowa State 543
23. No. 27 Michigan State 608
24. Boise State 617
25. Providence 628
26. No. 14 Gonzaga 682
27. (RV) Furman 683
28. Indiana 684
29. Iona 720
30. Florida State
31. New Mexico 791
32. Santa Clara 794
33. Minnesota 987

Portland Individual Men
38. Strangio - 23:40.3 PR
43. Bradley Peloquin 23:41.3 PR
65. Jakob Kintzele 23:52.8 PR*
82. Zak Kirk 23:58.5
142. Nolan Hosbein 24:20.5
148. Jonas Gertsen 24:22.8
152. Ahmed Sado 24:23.8

PR* denotes first time competing in the event as a Pilot