PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne men's and women's cross country teams begin the 2019 campaign hosting the Duquesne Duals on Saturday, Aug. 31 at the Schenley Park oval.

The Dukes will face off with Youngstown State and Carnegie Mellon at the event, with the men's 8K race beginning at 9 a.m. followed by the women's 5K race at 9:45 a.m.

Both the DU men and women posted first-place marks at the 2018 Duquesne Duals paced by first-place finishes by Cordon Louco (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny) Elizabeth Morris (Doylestown, Pa. / Central Bucks East), respectively. Megan Aller (New Kensington, Pa. / Kiski Area) paced all returners on the women's side with a time of 18:38.10 while Casey Conboy (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Baldwin) led all returners on the men's side with a sixth-place showing at (26:05.26).

The Dukes placed five runners in the top eight in both the men's and women's races in 2018.

The DU women were selected to finish sixth at the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship in the recently-released conference's preseason coaches' poll while the men were picked to place eighth.

After Saturday's meet, the Dukes return to action on Friday, Sept. 13 at the George Mason Invitational in Leesburg, Va.