Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams looked strong as they ran across the first finish line of the season Saturday at the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational.

The men won the meet of 11 teams with 30 points, led by sophomore Brian Baum, who finished second with a time of 25:36.58.

Shortly following Baum in third place was junior Jake Sussman at 25:42.65.

Colton Johnson (26:08.05, sixth), Isaac Potes (26:23.54, ninth) and Gary Haglund (26:25.49, 10th) also placed within the top ten finishers.

Head coach Trent Mack said he was very encouraged with the front pack of five, because a 40-second spread is very strong this early on and will be a huge part of how successful they can be later in the season.

The women placed second with 65 points overall. Sophomore Anna Mion led the ladies with a time of 19:29.2, earning herself seventh place.

Next in line for the Eagles was senior Stephanie Stoffel in 13th place with a time of 19:53.3. Mikaela Bush gave a strong performance in her first collegiate meet with a time of 19:58, grabbing the 16th spot overall.

Mack said that he is “definitely excited about this team as a whole,” but will shift his focus to Saturday, when the teams will compete at the Fighting Scots Invitational in Wooster.