SWANNANOA, N.C. – Montreat College women's and No. 19 men's cross country opened their 2019 campaigns Friday evening at the Warren Wilson Invitational down the road in Swannanoa, N.C. Both squads collected team wins while Lydia Wilson and Dan O'Dell each captured individual wins. Additionally, a multitude of Cavs significantly improved their times from last season.

"We are coming off a hard training week, and this meet was an opportunity to get a little turnover and see where we are fitness-wise heading into the next training cycle," said director of cross country Jason Lewkowicz. "Despite using this as a time trial and staying in our training shoes for this one, it is always fun to put on the race kit and compete. Despite the low key nature of this event, we had a great turnout of students, family, and friends and that really helped us out on a warm afternoon."

The women's squad took home the team win with a low score of 20 points. The Lady Cavs had eight of the top 10 finishers and were led by Lydia Wilson, who came through with a time of 11:57.03 to take the individual win. Erica Morin took third place overall and her time of 12:46.63 was nearly a three-minute improvement over her time from last year at this meet. Skyler Tait finished fourth with a time of 12:54.60 (16-second improvement from 2018) while freshman teammate Lillie Siniard placed fifth with a time of 13:02.60 in her collegiate debut.

Alma Rodriguez had a strong showing and placed seventh overall with a time of 13:20.70 (31-second improvement from 2018) with fellow sophomore Rosie Marshall close behind in eighth with a time of 13:33.13 (59-second improvement from 2018). The freshman trio of Jerica Ploeger (ninth), Amy Schlosser (10th), and Jenna Mallory (11th) rounded out the effort for the Lady Cavs.

"I thought the women did a good job of packing up early and, as they continue to develop, that could and should be a focus and strength for them. They have the talent and we have some depth, so hopefully they will keep working together and pushing each other," said Lewkowicz. "It is great to see the progression of our returners and the confidence that gives them after a year or two in our program. This group has the potential to really have a special season."

The men's team took the top seven spots in the meet on their way to the team title and a perfect team score of 15. Sophomore Dan O'Dell took home the individual win with a time of 16:11.59, a 50-second improvement over his 2018 effort. Senior Benjamin Schmidt took charge of the early pacing duties and would place second with a time of 16:29.67. Antonio Gomez placed third for the Cavs in 16:37.49 with Caleb Silver not far behind in fourth at 16:49.59.

Freshman Caleb Potter rounded out the top five with a time of 17:11.09 in his Montreat College debut while Garret Welsh (sixth – 17:13.89) and Liam Graham (seventh – 17:26.64) completed the scoring effort for the Cavaliers.

"We held out a number of our guys and probably won't race the entire men's team until the end of September, but I am definitely excited about the depth of this group and the way they are going about their training," said Lewkowicz. "I knew Dan O'Dell had a great summer and you can tell it is paying off. He ran a smart race and got his first individual win. But, as with the women, the strength of this team lies in their ability to work together and pack up. We didn't do a great job of that today when that should have been the focus. If they can continue to keep up the work ethic they have and keep pushing each other, the sky is the limit for this group."

Up Next: Both squads return to action Sept. 13 when they travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to compete in the USC-Upstate Eye Opener.