COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Webster University men's and women's cross country teams were back in action today when they traveled to Columbia, Missouri, to compete in the Larry Young Invitational hosted by Columbia (Mo.) College. The men's team finished in 10^th place while the women's team took 11^th.

The men's team was led by Ethan Nieroda who took 31^st place with a time of 27:15 in the 8K. Kaelin Triggs and Caleb Fletcher were right behind Nieroda as Triggs took 42^nd with a time of 27:46 while Fletcher finished 46^th with a time of 28:26. Johnny Imboden and Joshua Clark rounded out the scored competitors for Webster as Imboden took 67^th with a time of 30:36 while Clark finished 74^th with a time of 33:54. Kenneth Louvierre was the final competitor for Webster as he finished in 76^th place with a time of 34:10.

"We opened up really well with our first 8K of the season," said Head Coach Kyle Robinson about the men's team. "We had some great performances from our returners and our freshmen battled through their first 8k. We'll only get better from here."

Natalie Kist was the top finisher for the women's side as she finished in 74^th place. Olivia Nelsen was just behind Kist as she was the second best Gorlok finisher at 81^st overall. Aissata Kamara, Symphony Schodroski, and Abigail Szydlowski rounded out the competitors as they finished 87^th, 88^th, and 89^th overall, respectively.

"We had our full team for the first time this year," said Robinson about the women's side. "I am super happy with their effort today and am excited to keep working with this group through the rest of the season."

The Gorloks will return to the course on Saturday, September 23^rd when they host their first ever home cross country meet. The Gorlok-Griffin Invitational will take place at Buder Park with the men running at 10:30 a.m. and the women running at 11:30 a.m.