The Oswego State men’s and women’s cross country teams hosted the Oswego Invitational on Saturday at the Fallbrook Recreation Center, running through a steady rain on their home course. The women finished second out of three teams, while the men came in fifth out of five.

The highlight of the day came in the women’s race, as Kyra Pellegrino turned in another record-breaking performance. Pellegrino crossed the line in 14:54.5, which set a new Oswego program record, a new Fallbrook course record and the fastest 4k in the SUNYAC this fall. She was followed closely by her teammate Elena Gaffney, who placed second overall in 15:00.5 to give the Lakers a sweep of the top two spots. The pair finished well ahead of the rest of the field as SUNY Morrisville’s Elizabeth Lucason took third in 15:33.4, with ESF’s Maura O’Brien and Tee Atwater rounding out the top five.

The Lakers’ scoring pack behind Pellegrino and Gaffney included Angelina Buttigieg in 18:39.4, Julia Weaver in 19:29.7 and Grace Stevens in 19:56.0. The Lakers group produced a team score of 47 points, which placed the Lakers second behind SUNY ESF’s winning total of 33. Morrisville State finished third with 50. Additional depth came from Julay Mustafa, who ran 20:18.8, along with Sophia Shatynski in 21:17.8, Korey Lesko in 21:23.7 and Alannah Edwards in 21:30.9. First-year Emily Bologna rounded out the lineup in 25:59.0.

The 6k men’s race was won by Onondaga Community College’s Paul Clark, who crossed the finish line in 20:09.9, nearly 80 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Morrisville’s Michael Ventrelli finished runner-up in 21:28.7, with teammate Nasir King right behind in 21:37.0. Brown House Track Club’s Nathan Couse placed fourth. At the same time, Morrisville’s Avion Harris rounded out the top five.

Leading the way for the Lakers was Jeffrey Simmons, who placed sixth overall in 22:01.2. T.J. Bowes was next for the Lakers in 22:44.6, followed by Evan Young in 23:44.6, Neil Graber in 24:27.0 and J.T. Goss in 24:33.5 to complete the scoring five. Miles Thompson finished in 25:08.2, with Tom Mahunik at 26:42.5 and Hector Cuellar at 27:34.7. The Lakers’ team total of 95 tied Brown House Track Club, but the Lakers lost on a tiebreak and were placed fifth. Morrisville won the men’s team title with 31 points, followed by ESF with 55 and Onondaga with 92.

The weekend also brought individual recognition for Pellegrino, who was named SUNYAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week on Monday. Her award comes after back-to-back record-setting performances, including at the Le Moyne Invite on Aug. 30, where she and Gaffney became the program’s top two all-time performers in the 4k.

The Lakers will return to action on Sept. 20 when the team travels to the University of Rochester.