The Miami University men's and women's cross country teams continued its strong start to the season with a one, two, three finish for the women, and a close second place for the men in Saturday's Miami Invitational.
The women's team took the top three spots its one through nine spread was under a minute. Junior Jess Hoover eventually won the race after leading it from gun to tape, a rare feat in cross-country.
Women's cross country head coach Kelly Phillips said she could not have imagined a more perfect day of racing.
"It was awesome," Phillips said. "Beautiful day, great turnout. Girls ran awesome."
Both teams were fortunate to be racing at home after Miami had to cancel hosting the meet last year due to construction. The year before that the race went ahead as planned, but because Hoover was a freshman, she didn't run in the meet. The victory was actually her first time running in a home meet.
"It was fun to race at home," Hoover said. "We haven't gotten to do that in a few years, and it was nice to unveil the new course. It was also fun beating some alumni."
The win was especially sweet for Hoover since she had multiple family members in attendance. She also noted how helpful and unusual it was hearing, "Go Miami!" at every twist and turn.
Phillips said she was very impressed with Hoover's performance.
"She's been running really strong since coming back," Phillips said. "She broke away early on and never looked back. Ran really fast because she's super fit. Her other teammates are not far behind though."
Hoover said she attributes her success Saturday to the work she put in over the summer and is confident she and her team can continue to drop their times and enjoy more success.
"We have so many strong girls up there; we all push each other and make each other better," Hoover said. "This is the strongest team I've had since we've been here. It's very exciting. I can't wait for conference and the regional, I think we can really do some damage."
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The meet was not scored, but had it been, the men's team would have finished three points behind conference rival, and winner, Ohio University. Senior Dave Wing and redshirt senior Matt Moral took the top two spots, but it wasn't enough to defeat the Bobcats. Miami alumnus Jarrod Eick finished fourth overall. Freshman Stephen Biebelhausen finished third for the RedHawks and tenth overall.
The next meet for the women's team is Friday, in Bowling Green, Ohio at the Mel Brodt Collegiate Opener. The next meet for the Men's team is the Kentucky Invitational, Saturday, in Lexington, Ky.
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