The Dickinson men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their 2016 season with first place finishes, hosting the Light up the Night Invitational on Thursday, September 1 at Dickinson Park. The Red Devil men combined for 24 points, taking the top three spots besting Washington & Lee University with 44. The Red Devil women scored 18 points to second place Washington & Lee’s 51.

For the men, Duncan Hopkins ’19 set the course record on his way to winning the individual title with a time of 16:02, followed by Mason Hepner ’17 who came home second with a mark of 16:06. Bryce Descavish ’20 finished in third after 16:14.

Eric Hermann ’19 also placed in the top-10, finishing seventh overall with a time of 16:26. Nathan Udell ’18 and Kyle Fitch ’18, Matthew Ferry ’17 all finished in the top 15, taking places 11, 12 and 13, respectively.

A course record was also set in the women’s competition as Sofia Canning ’18 undercut the former mark on her way to take the individual title with a time of 18:33. She finished 24 seconds ahead of second place as 6 other Red Devil runners finished in the top-10.

Tessa Cassidy ’20 had started her collegiate career off strong, placing second overall in the event with a time of 18:57.

Adriana Frayne-Rexia ’17 completed the race in  19:16 to take the third spot while Kelsey Horowitz ’18 came home fourth with a time of 19:19. Molly Conrad ’20 and Jamie George ’18 put up times of 19:50 and 19:56 and finished eighth and ninth, respectively.

Lucile Ionescu ’19 and Sarah House ’20 came in 11th and 14th, respectively, as 13 Dickinson runners finished in the top 20.

The Red Devils travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Wednesday to face Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg College in the Little Three Championship on Wednesday, September 7. The men’s race is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. while the women’s race is set for 7:00 p.m.