By: Chris Behler

The Xavier men and women’s cross country teams began their seasons with a bang this past Saturday at the Flyer 5K. This year could be a predominantly freshmen-led season as both the men and women’s teams had outstanding freshmen performances over the weekend.

Freshman Jordan Shepherd was the standout performer for the men’s team on Saturday, finishing with a time of 16:27.4.

Other notables for the men include freshman Carter Macey who finished in 16:34.8, followed by fellow freshmen Aaron Peterson, Avery Campbell and Grant Parrelli with times of 16:40.4, 16:46.5 and 16:52.3, respectively.

While head coach Ryan Orner was happy with the men’s results overall, he is expecting more to come from his newly-inducted freshmen. This weekend was a promising start for the men’s team, and the team seems to be bursting with potential.

The Xavier women were also exceptional. They were led by freshman walk-on Delainey Burnett who finished with an impressive team best time of 20:02.3. In addition, her fellow freshmen Lauren Francis, Kristen Barour, Haley Jarabek and Meghan Pryatel were all essential parts to the women’s fifth place finish in the Flyer 5K.

Not only were these freshmen important contributors to the team’s excellent performance, but the veterans on the team, Caterina Karas, Emily Wolery and Emily Kuhn, also played a key part in the race as well. Karas, Wolery and Kuhn finished with times of 20:56.6, 21:24.5 and 21:57.3 respectively.

The cross country teams return home to host the Queen City Invitational at 5 p.m. on Sept. 6 and will take place at Kingswood Park in Mason, Ohio.