Falcons Wrap up Action at Season-Opening Meet

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Juniors Scott Johnson and Maria Mettler recorded winning performances to lead their respective cross country teams this morning, as the Falcons wrapped up competition at the season-opening Air Force Open at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs. Johnson clocked a four-mile time of 20:49.0 to pace the men, while Mettler posted a three-mile time of 16:59.8 to win the event by more than 13 seconds.

While not a scoring meet, Johnson, sophomore Will Kitzhaber, senior Justin Weber, junior Hunter Boyer and classmate Konrad Steck accounted for the men's top-five times, while accounting for five of the top-six finishes in the 30-runner event. Kitzhaber finished right behind Johnson, crossing the finish line in a time of 20:49.5. Weber was just one second behind the pair to finish third with a time of 20:50.7, while Boyer clocked a time of 20:52.4 to place fourth and Steck clocked a time of 20:53.0 to finish sixth.

Mettler paced the Falcons' top-five finishers to a 1-5 sweep in the overall field. Sophomore Mikayla Gallagher finished second with a time of 17:12.1, while junior Mahala Norris also bested the 18-minute mark with a time of 17:52.8. Senior Lindsey Blanks clocked a time of 18:05.2 to finish fourth, while freshman Maddie Edwards crossed the finish line of her first collegiate meet in a time of 18:19.8.

"Today was a nice start to our competitive season," head coach Ryan Cole said. "We had some of our underclassmen have strong runs and many of our upperclassmen show good fitness coming off of the summer. The group will continue to develop over the next few months, but I'm happy with our first hard effort."

The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Sept. 21, when the squad travels to Lincoln, Neb., for the Woody Green/Jay Dirksen Invitational.

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