INDIANA, Pa. – The Crimson Hawks men's and women's cross country teams returned to the course for the first time since the fall of 2019 as they hosted the "Welcome Back" Mini-Invitational Sunday afternoon at a chilly but sunny Blue Spruce Park. 

A combined 53 runners from four schools competed in the season-opening race. It marked IUP's first home meet since September 2009. 

The IUP men finished first out of an official two teams, with Seton Hill coming in second place. Shepherd and Alderson Broaddus also had runners compete, but not the minimum of five to count in the team scoring. 

Freshman Marco Cardone led the charge for IUP, finishing second overall with a time of 16:16.2 on the 5K course. He was one of eight Crimson Hawks making their collegiate cross country debuts Sunday, including seven true freshmen. 

Senior Sam Lenze finished third at 16:22.6 while juniors Evan Weaver and Isaac Evans finished in fourth and sixth place with times of 16:33.4 and 16:47.2, respectively. 

Overall, seven IUP men finished in the top-10 overall. 

The IUP women finished second of three official squads, just behind winner Seton Hill. The Crimson Hawks had five finishers inside the top-10 overall, including seniors Jessica Jones and Brianna Herr going back-to-back in second and third place. Jones finished with a time of 19:32.7 while Herr crossed the line in 19:42.5. 

Also finishing in the top-10 for the women were sophomore Erin McGrath (20:27.4) in seventh, sophomore Paige Wess (20:28.6) in eighth, and freshman Tori James (20:32.6) in 10th. 

Up next
The Crimson Hawks are back in action in two weeks at an invitational hosted by Cal U on March 6. 

It will be the second of three scheduled meets for IUP during this shortened spring season, culminating in the 2020-21 PSAC Championships March 20 in Lock Haven. 

Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP cross country on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtrack_XC.