NORTON, Ohio - The sun was starting to set on Silver Creek Metro Park as the Malone University cross country programs were off and underway. The culture of the van was quiet as they played in their phones like a typical weekend afternoon.
 
The camp remained calm and both men's and women's teams knew what to expect. They had their plans as they were ready to start their warm-up. The women went off at 6:15 and they were never under pressure and ran with perseverance. Karrah Singleton led the team in her opening collegiate race with a 5k time of 19:49. Freshman Elena Price just missed breaking 20 minutes with a 20:09.
 
Head Coach Zach Fresenko said, "It's not a bad start to the season. We had freshmen step up and the future looks bright." The team placed fourth out of six squads.
 
The men ran like they were on a mission. The opened up the race hot with five in the top-15. They maintained momentum through the 4k mark until they just ran out of gas at the end. Xander Heil led the team today with a 6k time of 18:34 and finished fourth in the entire field. Andrew Bugner was the next runner for the Pioneers with a time of 19:08 and 19th overall.
 
The team was accepting of the performance, but knew it wasn't their best effort. Coach Fresenko has this to say about the season-opener "Overall, it was not a bad day. The race got away from us towards the end, but I am excited about what is in store for the team." The men placed third as a team and look forward to the 8k race in a few weeks.
 
Both teams will be traveling on September 18 to the All-Ohio Cross Country Championships at Cedarville University where they hope to keep the ball rolling.