The Oberlin women and men’s cross country teams competed in their first meet of the season last Friday at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. Overall team scores were not kept, but both the men and women had strong individual performances.

“It’s a relatively hilly course to run, but I think our men ran well, especially our younger guys,” said senior Mike Pennino, co-captain of the men’s team.

“For the first meet of the season, I thought we did a great job,” men’s and women’s head coach Ray Appenheimer said “[The team members] were very enthusiastic and are excited for the rest of the season.”

The team enthusiasm definitely showed when sophomore Travis Grout placed third overall in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 16:46.

“All I have to say is that Travis Grout…I think is awesome,” sophomore Sophie Grimes said. “He kept his cool and was even smiling at us while we cheered him on.”

First-year Andrew Higgins and sophomore Matt Ferris-Smith were the second and third runners for the men’s team, finishing 15th for a time of 17:33 and 18th in 17:36, respectively.

“[Higgins] had a strong first college competition,” senior Mike Pennino said, “and [Ferris-Smith] has improved much since last year.”

“Our team is trying to work on running in a pack and we ran together well for the first mile, but we got separated after that,” Pennino said. “So we still need to work on running as a group for a longer distance in future races.” Pennino finished 27th overall with a time of 18:07.

The women’s cross country team fared very well for their first meet. First-year Alison Doniger was the top finisher for the Yeowomen with a fifth-place finish in 20:34.

Senior co-captain Shannon Morris finished with a time of 20:41, earning her sixth place.

Leading the second pack of finishers was first-year Marie Barnett with an 11th place finish in 21:40.

Grimes finished 13th in 21:53, with junior Angela Parker finishing close behind in 22:07 for 17th place.

Sophomore Barri Newberger finished 18th in 22:27, first-year Anna Chernin finished 19th in 22:28 and senior Samantha Yarbrough crossed the finish line in 21st place with a time of 22:37.

This week Oberlin College will host its first and only cross country home meet.

“I don’t think we’ve had a home meet in about five years, so this is great,” Appenheimer said.

The GLCA Cross Country Championships will take place this Saturday, Sept. 11, at 10 a.m. at the athletic fields behind the Philips Center.