The MU men gave a very strong showing out of the blocks, led by sophomore Andrew Weems (Johnson City, Tenn./Science Hill H.S.), who was the Bears’ top finisher in a personal-best time of 26:01.65 for the eight kilometer course.  Weems was 30^th overall out of 85 runners (and eclipsed his previous best 8K time of 27:28 at last season’s Greater Louisville Sports Commission XC Invitational).

Fellow sophomore Chris Svidesskis (Marietta, Ga./Dominion Christian H.S.) and freshman Sony Prosper (Pompano Beach, Fla./Union Grove H.S., Ga.) were Mercer’s second and third finishers, placing 35^th and 36^th in the standings. Svidesskis was clocked at 26:08.41, while Prosper was close behind at 26:09.12 in his first collegiate meet.

Junior Marc Kushinka and sophomore Jacob Law also finished back-to-back – at Nos. 49 and 50 – to help MU’s first five runners stay within 1:22 minutes of each other in the race.

Freshman Kasib Abdullah (Warner Robins, Ga./Houston County H.S.) placed 55^th and Geremy Skeen was 57^th to round out the Bears’ placements. Skeen lopped three seconds off his personal 8K best in the race, while celebrating his 21^st birthday.

The MU women’s team came within nine seconds of the school record for team time, registering an average of 19:41.65 for the five kilometer race. Three of the team’s top four finishers were newcomers to the squad.

Freshman Lena Hamvas (Marietta, Ga./Walton H.S.) set the tone for the Bears with a 27^th place finish for her first effort in the Orange and Black. Hamvas’ time of 19:09.77 was also a personal best.

Another freshman, Sammy Woller (Waukesha, Wis./New Berlin Eisenhower H.S.) placed 34^th in a time of 19:30.70 and sophomore Kacie Niemann's 36th place finish was the Bears' third place runner. Freshman Linda Batna (Kandava, Latvia) was 38^th (19:40.09) - and fourth for the team - in her first collegiate competition as MU had a nice grouping of its runners. 

Senior Clara Densmore (Cochran, Ga./Bleckley County H.S.) was MU’s fifth finisher in 49^th place, followed by junior Christina Kivi (Valdosta, Ga./Lowndes H.S.) in 51^st. Kassie Knapper (Fayetteville, Ga./Whitewater H.S.), a sophomore, finished in 58^th place.