AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron cross country teams opened its 2008 campaign Saturday afternoon with its annual Tommy Evans Invitational. The women's squad dominated the field placing five different runners in the top ten while the men also boasted an impressive performance placing second overall. Leading the way for the women was sophomore Kim Lorentz who won the race in a course-record time 18:04.

In winning the event, the Zips women, who dominated with a score of 17, swept the top four spots and had five in the first seven runners. Following Lorentz was Larisa Arcip, Cassie Schenck and Colleen Moran. Olivia Jawaorek placed seventh. Three additional Zips helped the squad to victory placing in the top 25. Junior Danielle Sidell and Sophomore Ro Rupe both placed 12th and 13th respectively while Freshman Ashley Rockwood finished 20th out of the 58 runners competing.

Coach Jones was pleased with the team’s results and the emphasis their performance had on the upcoming season.

“We’re excited to get started. Today was a great way to kick off a season that holds a lot of promise for us. Our whole group ran well today and I'm really proud of their effort.”

On the men's side, Akron placed second overall and trailed winner Buffalo by only seven points, 40-33. Three different Zips placed in the top ten runners with Andy Knapp leading the way in second place. Knapp, a freshman for the Akron squad was the top Division I runner crossing the tape with a time of 21:04. (He was bested by Mount Union's Dan Whisler who was the overall winner with a time of 21:00.) Fellow UA freshman Gus Dudek trailed Knapp by five seconds, finishing at the 21:09 mark placing fifth overall. Junior Mark Bogard rounded out the top ten performers for the Zips placing ninth with a 21:21 time mark.

Analyzing the men’s performance, Jones again noted the influence of his new runners while acknowledging room for growth and improvement in their upcoming races.

"I was excited to watch our group of young guys compete. We still have a lot growth ahead of us, but the freshmen ran fearlessly in their first collegiate race. Some of the other guys were a little bit overzealous and that hurt their final placing, but Coach LaBadie will get that straightened out. They're going to be a tough group!"

Both teams sprint back into action on Saturday, September 20th when they head to Buffalo, N.Y. where they will compete in the Buffalo Stampede. Scheduled start times are 11:30am and 12:15pm for the men and women respectively.