Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Canisius College men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2011 season at the Duquesne Duals at Schenley Park on Saturday morning. On the men's side, freshman Chad Maloy and senior Jonathan McDonald recorded top-ten finishes in the field of 72 runners. In the women's field of 63 competitors, the senior trio of Jill Shea, Julie Dahlkemper, and Christine Mulvihill led the women's team, finishing in eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.

In his first collegiate competition, Maloy finished as the men's top runner in seventh place with a time of 26:47. Behind Maloy was McDonald, who finished in ninth place, posting a time of 27:12.

Following Maloy and McDonald were sophomore Nathan McCabe (27:34) and junior Alex Simon (27:41), finishing respectively in 16th and 17th place. Junior Aaron Hoven (28:12) and senior Mark Kearney (28:15) rounded out the team's top-30 competitors in the men's field in 24th and 25th place.

In the women's field, Shea finished with the team's best time of 19:29 to finish in eighth place. One second was all that separated ninth-place finisher Dahlkemper and tenth-place finisher Mulvihill with respective times of 19:37 and 19:38.

Sophomore Mikelle Cala finished a couple slots back of the senior trio in 12th place, posting a time of 19:48. Finishing in the top 30, sophomore Jamie Wallace recorded a time of 20:58 to finish in 28th place. In their collegiate debuts, freshmen Brandi Petit (21:17) and Morgan Atkins (21:39) finished 32nd and 38th, respectively.

Up next, the men's and women's teams will travel to South Bend, Ind. to compete in the National Catholic Championships at the University of Notre Dame on Friday, Sept. 16.