MARION, Ind. - Grace's cross country team enjoyed its season opener on a hot, humid evening on Friday.

The Lancers kicked off the year at the IWU Twilight Invitational. The races were condensed to 5k (for the women) and 6k (for the men) due to high temperatures. 

Grace beat the heat, however, posting strong times despite the challenging conditions. 

The women's team placed 3rd out of 16 teams — a field that contained six ranked squads. The men grabbed seventh out of 17 teams.

Cece Mitchell was Grace's top individual finisher. She grabbed a seventh-place finish for the women, crossing the finish line in 19:18.4.

Krysta Stanko (19:31.3, 13th place), Grace Pettit (19:35.0, 15th) and Faith Spain (19:39.7, 18th) produced an impressive forward pack for Grace.

Chloe Gibson made her collegiate debut, breaking 20 minutes (19:57.0) for 29th place. Fellow freshman Esther Crane (20:06.9) was not far behind Gibson, and sophomore Leah Emch was in striking distance in 42nd place (20:14.8).

The men's squad was led by underclassmen — the top-four finishers for the men were freshmen and sophomores.

A pair of fresh faces paced the team. Brady Hicks led the charge with a time of 19:15, placing 25th in his first collegiate race. His freshman classmate Brayden Mainwaring was next in line with a time of 19:48.4, grabbing 53rd place.

Sophomores Reid Sollars (20:10.2) and Matt Urbina (20:17.6) finished third and fourth respectively on the team. 

John Young (20:19.4), Austin Wilson (20:20.9), Zeke Benedict (20:23.4), Hunter Quadlin (20:27.3) and Jerry Troyer (20:29.8) completed a tight pack.

The Lancers' next meet is scheduled for Sept. 18 at Western Michigan for the George Dales Invite.

FULL MEET RESULTS