LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- Max Baeder ( So.) from the men's team placed ninth and Mara Schwenneker (Jr.) of the women's team claimed 21st place to lead The Evergreen State College cross country teams in 5-kilometer races at the University of Puget Sound Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 31 at Fort Steilacoom Park. It was the Geoducks' season opener.

Baeder placed ninth out of 63 runners in the men's 5K race. He was timed at 16:27. Luis Esquivel (Fr.) took 31st place for the Geoducks in 17:37. Also for Evergreen, Cooper Osborn (Jr.) finished in 18:06 and Harlan Estrada (Jr.) soon followed in 18:09. Osvaldo Calderon registered a time of 18:57.

Schwenneker earned her 21st-place finish in the women's race by completing the course in 22:11. Teammate Maddie Morgan (Jr.) recorded a time of 26:36. Olivia Pare (Sr.) of Evergreen completed the race in 28:40. Also competing for the Geoducks was Nayda Miller (So.).

"The team raced hard today in the heat. It's a great day to be a Geoduck!," said Evergreen Head Cross Country Coach Joel Pearson.

Winning the men's individual title was Ben Kerr from Puget Sound in a close finish. Kerr ended the race in 15:34, while Zachary Sundt, running unattached, earned a time of 15:38 for second place. Third place went to Tion McLeish, also unattached, in 15:41.

The individual women's champion was Mia Bieghtol from Clark College (Wash.). She registered a time of 19.56 to win by 13 seconds. Dani Buttrell, also from Clark, placed second in 20:09. Erein Schmidlin of Puget Sound took third place in 20:48.

Team scores were not immediately available.

"The first meet of the season always has its unexpected challenges after summer break away from racing," Evergreen Assistant Cross Country Coach Katie Burnett commented. "The way the team ran today will set them up well for later in the season."