IU cross-country collected a pair of team victories at the Miami Opener on Friday.
The goal for the men and women was to stay together and win the meet without overexerting themselves.
Each team did just that, scoring 23 points to defeat Indiana State University and Miami University to start their season.
After making a championship run last season, graduate students Katherine Receveur and Maggie Allen along with senior Ben Veatch did not participate to rest.
The women’s team was led by junior Lexa Barrott, who finished first in the 6K with a time of 21:42.6, the first collegiate victory of her career.
“We’ve just been rolling through some workouts the last couple weeks,” Barrott said. “Everyone will get tomorrow to feel a little bit better and then we’re right back to the grind on Sunday morning.”
The next four runners to cross the finish line wore cream and crimson.
Sisters Haley and Kelsey Harris scored for the Hoosiers with times of 21:44.4 and 21:56.2.
Freshmen Sarah Schmitt and Bailey Hertenstein finished between them as unattached runners, unable to score for the team.
Junior Hannah Stoffel also finished top-10 with the time of 22:22.8. Freshman Josey Korte was the last IU scorer, finishing 15th.
Indiana State scored 32 points to take second place. Miami University rounded out the women’s race with 67 points.
In the men’s 8K, freshman Reese Jordan finished in eighth, making him the first scorer for the Hoosiers with a time of 25:43.2, earning two points.
“Right before the race I wasn’t really that nervous,” Jordan said. “I was thinking about just going out there and sticking with my teammates and giving it everything I had for the last 2K or so.”
Sophomore Hunter Moore finished directly behind Jordan.
Closing the scoring field for the Hoosiers were junior Bryce Millar, graduate student Kenneth Hagen and senior Kyle Burks. They all placed in the top-20.
Indiana State scored 41 points to take second place in the men’s 8K. Miami University, finishing third, scored 67 points to end the afternoon.
The IU cross-country team will travel next to Van Cortlandt Park, New York for the Meet of Champions on Sept. 14.
