The paths in Odell Park were wet and muddy on Saturday, but that didn’t stop the first cross country meet of the AUS season.
STU and UNB were the host schools, with five other universities and several independent runners joining in.
The women took to the path first, running 5km in light drizzle. There weren’t enough female runners from STU to have a team, so the three women who ran participated as independents.
The rain stopped in time for the men to start, but the sloppy and uneven path made the 8km difficult. Runners slipped going downhill and were caked in mud when they crossed the finish line.
Scores for the meet are based on the total score of the top five runners from each university. The men placed sixth overall.
Katie Cameron and Paul Nozicka were the first STU runners to finish in their respective races.
Andrew Vail was the second STU runner to cross the line in the men’s race. He achieved a personal best, running the race in 31 minutes and 3 seconds.
Head coach Alex Coffin gathered the team after the meet and told the group he was very proud of the effort they put forth.
The next cross country meet is on Oct. 5 at St. Mary’s University.
