ADRIAN, Mich. - The Trine University men's and women's cross country teams turned in solid performances in their first meet of the season as both squads took second at the Bulldog Invitational hosts by Adrian College.
Ran at Lenawee Christian High School, the men's team finished with 51 points as host Adrian took the win with 31 points.
Freshman Austin Ganger (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka) finished second in the 5K race in a time of 16:39, just nine seconds behind the winner. Senior Michael Hammond (Columbia City, Ind./Bellmont) and freshman Aaron Mast (Ligonier, Ind./West Noble) finished back-to-back in eighth and ninth with times of 17:38 and 17:40 respectively. Another freshman in Garrett Benedict (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield Central) placed 15th in a time of 18:07. Rounding out the men's team scoring was sophomore Michael Greenwell (Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak) with a time of 18:56 to finish 27th.
On the women's side, Madonna University took the team title with 32 points with the Thunder finishing just 11 points behind.
Leading the way for Trine was sophomore Ariel McCoy (Garrett, Ind./Garrett) with a third place finish with a time of 21:27. Freshman Kelsey Ortiz (Swanton, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) finished three spots back, completing the 5K course in a time of 21:53. Finishing in 12th place was sophomore Courtney Forsythe (West Mansfield, Ohio/Benjamin Logan) with a time of 22:51. Freshman Cynthia Yoder (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community) finished the race in a time of 23:16 to place 15th. Rounding out the top-5 for the Thunder was another freshman in Holly Wolfe (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka) in 23rd place and a time of 23:58.
Trine returns to action on September 7 when they travel to Anderson University for their invitational beginning at 10:30 a.m.