LATROBE, Pa. – It was another successful racing day for the Franciscan University men's and women's cross country teams at the St. Vincent Invitational Saturday morning. The Lady Barons took first place out of eleven teams, while the Baron placed fourth out of eleven, despite racing without their number one runner.

With a team score of 29, Lady Baron runners Teresa Evans, Nicole Krajewski, Katherine Manion, and Anna Scarnecchia all placed in the top ten of 142 runners. Junior Teresa Evans took third place with a time of 19:21. Krajewski, a freshman, got a time of 19:44 and clipped the number four spot. Manion followed in fifth place with a time of 19:47, and Scarnecchia came in ninth at 20:33.

Head coach Daniel Kuebler said he was happy that "the girls' packs were all a lot closer together than earlier in the season" showing an obvious improvement overall.

Running on the flat golf courses of Notre Dame just the week before, the men and women of Franciscan's teams were, this week, faced with a much more difficult course. With a few smaller hills interspersed throughout, the St. Vincent College course hosts the last part of the race on an especially long hill, making the resulting times even more impressive.

The Baron Cross Country team took fourth place, despite the number one runner, Bill Jones, a sophomore who was named AMCC Player of The Week just three weeks ago. Jones was out of this race due to injuries.

Kevin LeRoy ran an impressive race, taking ninth place with a time of 27:28. Right behind him, freshman Joey Schlueter took tenth with a time of 27:31. Jack Kaiser, a sophomore, came in 15^th place with a time of 28:02, followed by Michael Gotta in the 41^st spot with a time of 29:37.

Coach Kuebler feels that both teams are "looking the best Franciscan has seen them so far."

The team heads to Cedarville, Ohio, this Friday, October 1, for the All-Ohio Championships.