Men’s and Women’s Cross Country each opened their seasons this past weekend at the Lehigh Invitational in Bethlehem, PA. The women placed first overall, scoring 21 points, while the men were runners-up to St. Joseph’s, scoring 56 points in the process.

The women are looking to build on a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Patriot League Championships, as they return five out of their top seven runners from that meet. On the other hand, the men are hoping to rebound from a season where they placed sixth. Returning only four of their top seven and two of their top five, they will need people to step up to compete with the big three of Navy, Army and Boston come November.

The women found a convincing victory over a West Virginia team that was ranked fifth in the nation by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and is expected to take one of the two auto-qualifier spots for the National Championships later this fall. The charge for the Bison was led by Shaelan McNally ’28, who blazed a 21:06.30 over the 6,000-meter course. Her time was 27 seconds ahead of her teammate, Caryn Rippey ’26, who placed second. Kate Moncavage ’28, Kailey Granger ’27, and Cassidy Roop ’28 rounded out the rest of the top five for the Orange and Blue, placing third, fourth and 11th, respectively.

The men fell just short of claiming the team title on Friday, defeating home team and Patriot League rival, Lehigh, in the process. Henry Didden ’26 was the top finisher for the Bison, running 18:18.50 over 6,000 meters for fourth place, just seven seconds back of the leader. Ethan Pratt-Perez ’28, Trent Dinant ’26, Jayson Harmer ’26 and Grant Kern ’26 completed the rest of the top five, placing seventh, 11th, 18th and 21st, respectively.

 The road to November is just getting started for the Orange and Blue. They head to Montgomery, NY on Saturday, Sept. 13, to compete at the Jasper Invitational.