The Washington University cross country teams began the season with stellar performances at the Washington University Early Bird Meet Saturday morning at Central Fields in Forest Park. The men’s team placed first for the fourth time in five years with 63 points, while the women’s squad finished second with 52 points.
Head Coach Jeff Stiles was elated with his team’s performance and believed the meet showed signs of a promising season.
“This is easily the best team we’ve had in a while,” said Stiles. “We’re miles ahead of where we were at this point last year.”
Senior Jesse McDaniel was the Red and Green’s top finisher in the 8k run with his time of 26:25.27, which was good for fifth overall. Sophomore Aldan Black finished 10th overall with his time of 26:37.09, and fellow classmate Alex Bearden was 13th to cross the finish line (26:51.66).
Freshman Evans Kiptoo of Lindenwood University won the men’s competition with a time of 25:02.53.
On the women’s side, senior Kate Pentak paced the Bears with her eighth place finish in the 4K run (14:46.81). The Bears had four top 11 finishers, including senior Tricia Frisella (ninth, 14:58.02), senior Lisa Sudmeier (10th, 15.04.20) and sophomore Molly Schlamb (11th, 15:04.65). The Wash. U. freshmen formed their own highly successful team for the weekend. They placed fourth overall and were led by Taryn Surtees’s seventh place run with a time of 14:47.56
Missouri State University, a Division I school, finished atop the women’s competition with only 21 points and the top four finishes. Senior Carrie Vestal placed first with her time of 14:07.53. Saint Louis University, another Division I school was third.
Stiles had earlier mentioned that this meet would be a good indicator for the remainder of the season. In his book, the team has passed Saturday’s test.
“This team certainly passed the litmus test,” said Stiles. “This is the best possible start we could have had.”
The teams take a weekend off before they compete in the Maryville Classic on Sept. 15 in St. Louis.