Perfection is tough in any aspect, but the Washington University women’s cross country squad turned in a perfect finish at the Maryville Classic on Saturday, beating five teams. The men’s team also took first in a field of seven squads.

Junior Sangeeta Hardy led the way with a time of 20 minutes and 32 seconds in the 5K as Bear after Bear came flying through the finish line.

“We’re always strong from the front,” Hardy said. “We were cheering for each other when we overlapped each other.”

Freshman Jason Dorn batles the elements in last weekend’s Wash. U. Early Bird meet. Dorn took third and led the men to first place at the Maryville Classic, with the women also taking first. (Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life)

Freshmen Anne Correll and Brittany Cronin rounded out the top three with times of 20:51 and 20:56.

Junior Anna Shafer-Skelton (21:12), sophomore Elisabeth Stocking (21:19) and junior Augusta Dunse (21:22) crossed the line in fourth through sixth place respectively. In cross country, points are assigned for each racer’s placement. The lowest team score, combining the best five racers, wins the meet, and a score of 15 is considered a perfect score.

Senior Allison Bickel and sophomore Sarah Britton placed eighth and 10th overall

“Our strategy was to go out, control [the field] and just finish strong,” Bickel said. “It’s encouraging this early in the season.”

Most of the course at Parkway South High School was composed of hilly terrain with tree-lined paths.

“It definitely made you feel more isolated,” Hardy said.

Contrary to last week’s meet, when runners were heavily rained on at Forest Park, Wash. U. track athletes enjoyed a relatively hot and humid day.

Three freshmen led the way to the men’s victory. Jason Dorn set the tone for the Bears, taking third overall with a time of 21:16 in the 6K. Classmate Mikael Boughdiri trailed by four seconds, finishing in fifth place overall, while Josh Lewis took seventh place in 21:25.

“Lewis had a really nice kick in the last [kilometer],” senior Tim Meahl said.

Lewis edged out Lindenwood University’s Blake Austin by a second and Fontbonne University’s Todd Schulte by four seconds.

Meahl (21:38) and junior Peter Bush (21:45) rounded out the scorers with 12th and 13th place finishes, respectively.

The men’s team started off moderately in the pack before making their move at the three-mile marker. “We try to mix it up as we get to the midpoint of the race,” Bush said. “[We] try to get up front and compete with the leaders.”

The squad used this meet to prepare for the 8K races that come later on in the season, according to Meahl.

“The race for the 8K starts at three miles,” Meahl said. “We wanted to be conservative…We wanted to move up throughout the race.”

Some of the strongest performances on both the men’s and women’s sides came from the freshmen.

“The freshmen class in general is really strong,” Bush said, “[a] really talented group of runners [that] could help out the team right now.”

Wash. U. takes a week off before competing at the Southern Illinois University Saluki Invitational at 10 a.m. in Carbondale, Ill., on Sept. 26.