LEAVENWORTH – Benedictine Cross Country got their season underway on Friday night, competing against some top-ranked programs in both the women's and men's races.

No. 21-ranked Women's Cross Country placed fourth while (RV) Men's Cross Country placed third at the annual University of St. Mary Twilight on the Spires campus.

In a field that featured the No. 1-ranked Spires, (RV) Kansas Wesleyan, (RV) William Woods, and the nationally-ranked Ravens, the Benedictine Women finished fourth behind USM, Kansas Wesleyan, and William Woods scoring 101 points. USM took top marks with a team score of 17 points as individually, they finished with five of the top six finishers.

Benedictine's top finisher was Alexa Lamb in 14th place at 19:52.27. Julia McLaughlin (20), Catherine Aaron (22), Cecelia Campos (25), Gemma Downey (27), and Josie Jensen (31) followed Lamb as the Ravens who were able to score points in the season-opening meet.

The Benedictine Men finished in third place as a team behind No. 2 USM and No. 14 Kansas Wesleyan. The Ravens scored 104 points as USM took the top spot with 25 points.

Benedictine's top finisher was Sebastian Michael in 17th place at 26:12.57. Michael was followed by Joseph Accurso (25), Thomas Campbell (27), Johnny Joyce (46), Owen Nolte (51), and Thomas Peuster (56) to round out the Ravens counting towards the final score total.

The Ravens are off until Sept. 21 when they will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to compete in the annual Wood Greeno Invitational, hosted by the University of Nebraska.

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