Both the men and women’s cross-country teams began the season on a positive note on Saturday. The Warhawk Invite, the teams’ only home meet, was the first race of the season, and both teams placed second out of eight teams.

Mathias Werve, a fifth-year senior for the Warhawks, ran well and took first place out of the 92 runners who competed in the race.

Coach Jeff Miller said he was not too surprised by the success of Werve, since he is a very capable veteran runner.

“Still,” Miller said. “If you win a college race, you win a college race, and we’ll take that.”

UW-Whitewater senior Joe Dixon finished fourth overall, and his teammates were impressed by his form.

“I definitely think Joe had a great summer, worked really hard,” senior teammate Chris Kautza said. “He looks great coming into this season.”

Sophomore Kevin Buntman, freshman Dawson Miller, and Kautza were on each other’s heels for a majority of the race, and rounded out the top five finishers for the Warhawks. Buntman and Miller are the leaders of a talented group of underclassmen that Miller has to work with, including his son Dawson Miller.

“He played soccer in high school, so this was his first time in a real cross-country meet, and five miles is a long way for someone used to running 800 meters, so that was nice to see,” Miller said.

The lady ‘Hawks were led by senior Madeline Roznos and junior Alyssa Duncan, who finished in third and fourth place, respectively. The two veterans agreed that starting their season on UW-Whitewater’s course has its benefits, but it’s also a tall order.

“I like having home meets because I love the environment and having my family here,” Roznos said. “But this is a really tough course.”

Miller said he was pleasantly surprised by how well junior Janna Wise ran. She finished third on the team and seventh overall. Junior Megan Gang and freshman Amanda Brom also placed high, finishing tenth and 15th overall.

“There were some nice things that happened,” Miller said. “With the first meet you’ll always have some surprises but then some disappointments as well. It was nice to see our top runners on both the men’s and women’s sides running together.”

Although the ‘Hawks are in the toughest conference and region in the nation for cross-country, both teams have lofty goals. Their eyes are on the prize of getting to the national meet as a team, and judging by the results at the Warhawk Invite, they have the talent and will to get it done.