XC Opens Season at Smith

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- The Mitchell College men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2021 season at the Smith Invitational on Saturday morning.

The men's team finished eighth in the field of nine while the women's squad did not post a team score. The hosts won the women's 5k race while Franklin Pierce University took home team honors in the men's 5k event.

Evan Carney paced the Mariners with a time of 20:23 and finished 37th overall. Newcomer Liam Robb was right on his heels, crossing the finish line in 20:32 to place 40th. Rounding out the scoring for Mitchell were Tom Martens (31:46), Joshua Herrmann (32:23) and Brandon Reynolds (36:14).

The Mitchell women posted two individual finishers, highlighted by a strong performance by Lara Jacobs. She crossed the finish in a time of 22:13, good enough to place 20th overall. Abby Rasmussen made her cross country debut and finished 46th in a time of 25:48.

Mitchell will next compete at the University of Saint Joseph on Friday, September 17 at 4 p.m.