Senior David Spandorfer leads the men’s cross country team to a first-place finish in last weekend’s Wash. U. Early Bird Meet. Spandorfer finished second with a time of 19:13.7.

The men’s team, ranked No. 1 nationally in a preseason poll, placed first in the local meet, beating out second-place finisher Southeast Missouri State University by one point to secure the win, 46–47. The Bears were led by seniors David Spandorfer and Alden Black, who finished in second and third place with 6K times of 19:13.7 and 19:15.5, respectively.

In the field of more than 200 runners, all five scoring Wash. U. runners placed in the top 20, with senior Erik Hinrichsen placing eighth, senior Zach Bahor 16th and junior Tucker Hartley 17th, in addition to Spandorfer and Black.

Not to be outdone, the freshmen ran noteworthy races as well for the “Wash. U. Rookies” team. Dalton Guthrie finished seventh with a time of 19:36.6 in a field of very experienced runners. Paul Johnson, also a freshman, finished second on the Rookies team, placing 19th with a time of 20:02.2.

The freshmen’s performance impressed both the competition and upperclassmen. “All the younger guys really had a very impressive meet,” Hartley said. “Seeing that level of performance from them was really nice.”

The win put the Bears in good position to keep their top national spot, though this may prove difficult as the season moves forward. Currently second in the nation, North Central College also ran well this week, recording a perfect score of 15 (all six NCC runners placed in the top six) in the Elmhurst College Early Bird Meet. NCC beat out fellow University Athletic Association member University of Chicago by 53 points.

Head coach Jeff Stiles sees the No. 1 ranking as more of a burden than a blessing.

“I’m glad North Central did so well. I hope they take the number-one rank,” Stiles said. “We want it back at the end of the season on November 20th.”

The women’s team, currently ranked fourth in the nation, also left Forest Park with a victory. The Bears ran extremely well, placing 11 runners in the top 20. The top five gave Wash. U. an outstanding score of 27 points, giving the Bears a strong victory over second-place South East Missouri State by a margin of 90. Junior Liz Phillips placed first in the meet with a 4K time of 14:37.7. Freshman Sarah Fisher was not far behind, timing in at 15:06.7 and placing fourth in the field of about 150.

Although the team finished in first, runners feel that the best is still yet to come.

“We are all at different stages now for how prepared we are.” senior Taryn Surtees said. “Once everything comes together, we will have a really solid team. There are some individuals who have improved a lot over the summer. It’s pretty exciting.”

Stiles was pleased with both teams’ finishes.

“They performed very well,” Stiles said. “They didn’t surprise me, but they met my expectations, like what I was looking for and hoping for. I was very encouraged [for the future]. Relative to time of year, we are where we want to be, but we have a ton of work to do.”

Both teams will head to Maryville University on Sept. 25 for the Maryville Classic. The women’s 5K will begin at 9 a.m., and the men’s 8K will begin at 9:45 a.m.