Alyssa Griffith/Winonan

The Winona State University men’s cross-country team kicked off its season with a victory on Saturday at the St. Mary’s University Alumni Open. The Warriors scored a 33, edging out Luther by two points for the win.

Warrior Billy Eifert took the individual title with a time of 21:36. Teammates Shane Carlson finished fourth with 22:23 and Sam Westerberg took fifth with 22:25.

The top-25 wasn’t short of Warriors, with David Lund (11th), Alex Buss (20th), Seth Reel (21st) and Clay Scott (25th) each claiming a spot.

The team put in extra work this summer to prepare for the start of the season.

“The whole team prepared for this first meet by running more miles than we have ever run this summer and coming into the season really focused on the idea that we can really turn some heads this year if we stay healthy and train hard,” Eifert said.

The Winona State women’s cross-country team also took its first team title of the season at the St. Mary’s Alumni Open on Saturday. The Warriors posted 22 team points for the top spot, with Carleton at a distant second with 37.

Warrior Jessica Young posted a time of 19:18 for the individual title. The top-ten wasn’t short of Warriors, as Jordan Skelly took third with 19:36, Jordana LeSavage finished fifth with 19:57, Chelsea Schrubbe finished sixth with 20:05 and Jordan Paschke took seventh with 20:07.

“Saint Mary’s is a hilly, tough course, so we knew we wouldn’t being going for personal best times,” Skelly said. “But we all ran hard and really raced against the other teams which paid off. It was a good first meet.”

Sophomore Emma Heuer took 11th, and freshman Clara Sweeney finished 13th.

The team is looking to keep challenging themselves to keep improving after a successful 2012 season.

“After losing three seniors that were in our top eight last year, we’ve got shoes to fill,” Heuer said. “But, with as bad as we want it and with as hard as we are working, we are ready to take on the challenge.”

The Warriors return for their second meet of the season on Sept. 14 at the Wisconsin-Parkside Midwest Open in Somers, Wis.

Contact Alyssa at [email protected]