PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Both the Allegheny men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2018 season by defeating host Chatham in dual meets at the school's Eden Park campus.

Led by individual champ Matt Svetz, the Gator men won by an 18-45 margin, while the Allegheny women, led by first-place finisher Emily Forner, picked up 19 points to the Cougars' 41.

In the men's race, the Gators boasted eight of the top nine finishers. Svetz covered the 5-kilometer course in 16:58, 41 seconds ahead of teammate - and former high school classmate - Louis McUmber (17:39).  

The Gators' third-through-fifth finishers were separated by just nine seconds. Sophomore Adam Cook placed fourth in 17:57, junior Luke Kellet fifth in 18:02, and rookie Tim Weighart sixth in 18:06.  Seth Conard (18:09) and Jared Szklenski (18:22) rounded out Allegheny's scoring eight, placing eighth and ninth, respectively.

As was the case with the men's race, the top of the standings on the women's side were riddled with Gators, who occupied six of the top seven positions.

Forner took the gold with a time of 20:02 to earn a 13-second victory over Chatham's Rebecca Pennington.

Sophomore Mica Hanish placed third overall with a time of 21:00, while rookie Molly Tarvin placed fourth in her collegiate debut with a time of 22:16. Claire Morrison turned in a time of 22:29 to finish fifth, while Jacelyn Alberts and Sarah Lucas occupied spots six and seven with times of 22:34 and 22:50, respectively. Joy Brown rounded out the Gators' scorers by placing 11th overall in 23:56.

The Allegheny men and women will now have a two-week respite before returning to action on Saturday, September 15th, when they host the Allegheny Gator Classic at the Robertson Athletic Complex.