CANFIELD, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Youngstown State University Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Facing Bucknell, Youngstown State, Malone, Ursuline, and Central State, the women placed 5th overall, while the men finished 6th.
On the women's side in the 5k, redshirt freshman Mckenna Blore led the Storm with a 48th-place finish, crossing in 22:09.15. Freshman Ona Figueras followed in 50th at 22:55.66, with Genesis Ghide-Bryan (23:19.00, 52nd) and Ayleen Villacres (23:20.20, 53rd) close behind. Sophomore Amelia Shirk rounded out the lineup, placing 67th with a time of 29:21.34. For Figueras and Ghide-Bryan, the meet marked the first collegiate race of their careers.
On the men's side, Bryce Michaelis paced the Storm in the 8k, finishing 55th overall with a time of 29:49.60. Andrew Polcik was next across the line in 60th at 30:49.19, followed by Evan Laukonis (33:43.69, 66th), Aaron Smelser (33:56.12, 68th), and John Molnar (34:10.33, 69th) to round out the team effort.
The Storm now have a two-week break before traveling to Pittsburgh for the Carnegie Mellon University Invitational on October 11th. From there, the focus quickly shifts to the G-MAC Championship, followed by the NCAA DII Midwest Regional meet for qualifying runners.
