2024 MVC CROSS COUNTRY Week 1 - Sept. 3, 2024

All 11 men's and 12 women's programs opened their seasons this weekend at seven different events.

Five cross country programs picked up first-place team finishes during opening weekend. Bradley, Indiana State and Missouri State recorded first-place performances on the women's side while Belmont and Bradley earned top team finishes on the men's side.

The Belmont Bruin men and women finished first and second, respectively, hosting the Belmont Opener on Aug. 30. On the men's side, five runners finished in the top 10 while Brooke Garter won the women's 5K event in a time of 18:03.1.

Bradley swept the men's and women's team titles at the Hawkeye Invitational, hosted by the University of Iowa, on Friday. The women went 1-2-3 as Nadia Potgieter turned in the top time in the women's 4K with a time of 14:01.29. On the men's side, five Braves finished inside the top 10 as Jack Crull recorded a season-opening 6K time of 17:50.0.

The Illinois State Redbirds joined the Braves at the Hawkeye Invitational, as the men grabbed a fifth-place finish at the event. Blake Oleson paced the Redbirds, finishing the 6K in a time of 18:46.0. On the women's side, Trixie Johnson clocked in a 4K time of 15:34.7.

Drake and UNI opened its seasons at the Cyclone Preview, hosted by Iowa State, on Friday. The Bulldogs earned second place in the men's 6K while the women finished third in the 5K. On the flip side, the Panther women tallied a second-place team finish and recorded a third-place performance in the men's race.

The Evansville men finished second out of five at the EIU Walt Crawford Open while the women recorded no team score, but had a pair of runners finish in the top 20. Samuel Lea's second place finish (15:16.0) in the 5K was a personal best for the sophomore.

Daniel Chavez led the UIC men to a third-place finish at the Winrow-Valparaiso Open to start the season, finishing fourth individually in the 6K event with a time of 18:08.7. Joseph Scheele paced the meet host Valparaiso Beacons, posting a time of 18:53.4 as the team finished fourth behind the Flames. The UIC women were edged by Ball State, finishing sixth overall, while the Beacons secured an eighth-place finish.

The Indiana State women won the Sam Bell Invitational while the men finished third as the Sycamores opened their seasons in Bloomington, Indiana. Emma Gresham shattered the program record in the women's 4K, clocking in a time of 14:14.8, which was good for a second-place finish. Three more teammates joined Gresham in the top 10. On the men's side, Emerson Fayman and Jocqael Thorpe recorded top 10 performances in the 6K event.

Missouri State, Murray State and Southern Illinois all traveled to compete in the SEMO Redhawks XC Invite on Friday. In the women's 5K event, Missouri State came out on top, followed by Southern Illinois and Murray State. The Saluki men and Racer men finished third and fourth, respectively. Four Bears finished in the top 10 led by Mary Margaret Harris' time of 18:50.8. SIU's Hannah Eastman recorded the second-fastest time at 18:04.5 followed by Murray State's Liz Smith's 18:41.4. SIU's Uriah Guthrie and Will Foltz highlighted top 10 performances on the men's side.