The men’s and women’s cross-country teams started out their seasons Friday, Sept. 6 as they made the trip to Iowa City to run against Iowa, Iowa State, Drake, Illinois State and others. The Panther women took fourth place with a 0:51 spread and the men’s team finished fifth with a 1:38 spread.

For the men running the 6,000-meter event, which is about 3.75 miles, CJ May placed the highest coming in at ninth place out of 74 runners with a personal record time of 18:28.3 at an average of just under five minutes per mile. 

The Panther men following May were Wal Khat, finishing in 13th with a time of 18:41.8, and Logan Murray placing 29th at 19:14.9. David Holesinger finished his freshman debut at 39th place, Sam McCool at 42nd place and Zach Krogmann finished 55th.

For the women running the 4,000-meter event, freshman Cassidy Ihns took the top place for the Panthers, coming in at 14th with a time of 14:43. Gabby Champion followed her, placing 15th with a time of 14:44.9. Paige Holub grabbed 24th place at 15:3.7. 

The Panther women who rounded out the competition were Tess Roorda at 35th place, Haylee Luna at 39th place, Maddie Block at 47th and Abby Riley at 56th.

The Panthers’ cross-country teams will road trip to Normal, Illinois to compete in the Illinois State Invitational on Friday, Sep. 13.