Akron, Ohio – The University of Akron men’s and women’s cross country teams got their respective seasons off on the right foot, each winning the Tommy Evans Invitational at Firestone Park.

The Akron men controlled four out of the first six spots in the four-mile race. Jason Headman (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood HS) took top honors with a time of 21:06 and teammate Craig Rupe (Cortland, Ohio/Maplewood HS) was in a close second with a mark of 21:11.

Jeff Swartzel (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Northwest HS) posted a fourth-place finish with a mark of 21:33, and Ricky Weisheimer (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood HS) finished in sixth place with a time of 21:47.

“We did a great job of working together in a group,” men’s cross country coach Joe Klim said. “The top four runners did a solid job, but we still need to work on runners five through seven. The biggest thing for me was that we ran as a team and I am very pleased with everyone’s effort today.”

The UA men finished the 4M with 31 points, followed by Buffalo (44), Youngstown State (61) and John Carroll (96).

The women’s team was not to be outdone by the men, as they controlled four out of the first seven and six out of the first 10 spots in the 5k run. Transfer Collen Moran (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) was the top finisher with a time of 19:14 and fellow teammate Sediah Erskine (Cleveland, Ohio/Rhodes HS) was right behind her with a mark of 19:19.

Heidi Gross (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) earned a sixth-place finish, clocking in at 20-minutes flat, and Junior Gina DiAntonio (Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls HS) ended in seventh with a time of 20:09.

Holly Sumser (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue HS) (20:23) and Jenny Richardson (Newark, Ohio/Newark HS) (20:31) ended the race ninth and tenth respectively.

“I was very pleased with the outcome of today’s race,” women’s cross country coach Scott Jones said. “We had several goals entering the event, one of which was to win the meet, and another was to be a better team at 1 p.m. than we were at noon. It was the first collegiate meet for over half of our team and I am pleased with the way they performed.”

The UA women concluded the event with 25 points, followed by Buffalo (41), John Carroll (72), Cleveland State (114), and Youngstown State (129).

Both the men’s and women’s cross county teams will return to the terrain on Friday, Sep. 15, at the Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.