GEORGETOWN – The Southwestern University men's and women's cross country teams kicked off the 2014 season with a pair of first place finishes from Alex Medrano and Emily Boujemaa.
Medrano starts his junior season as he pulled away from the field to finish with a time of 17:54.79 – almost a full minute better than the third place finisher. The Pirate men as a team placed behind cross-town rival Concordia in the 5k race at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown.
Kyle Bauernschmitt was the only other Pirate to capture a top 10 finish as he placed seventh with a time of 19:54.97.
On the women's side, Southwestern edged Concordia in the dual race as they were led by first-year runner, Emily Boujemaa. Boujemaa was more than a minute better than second place finisher Savannah De La Rosa of Concordia with a time of 21:13.86.
Along with Boujemaa's first place finish, the Pirates placed six runners in the top 10 including 4th-7th places. Daniel King finished fourth with a time of 23:23.95 and was followed by Izzy Lackner, Brianna Timourian and Colleen Nair. Valerie Vacek rounded out the top 10 finishers for Southwestern with a 10th place finish.
Both teams return to action next weekend in Seguin, Texas, for the Texas Lutheran Invitational.