Megan Edmunds, LSSULakers.com

GLADSTONE, Mich. --The Lake Superior State men's and women's cross country teams participated in the Quality Inn & Suites Invitational hosted by Bay College on Saturday, with both teams capturing first-place finishes.

The women came out on top in the 5,000-meter race, with Rebecca Lathrop securing the fastest finish time of the race with 20:32.5.

"It was a good race and a fast course," she said. "The whole team did awesome."

Alexis Passino had the next-best time on the women's side, finishing in 20:46.2. The third-place finish was captured by a Bay College runner, but the next spots were secured by the Lakers. Leah Bell finished fourth with a time of 21:14.8, Lydia Heimonen was fifth with a 22:09.4 finish time and Melody Perrin finished sixth with a time of 23:28.8.

For the Lake State men in the 8,000-meter race, David Mitter had the fastest time of 26:32.7.

"It was a great race and it feels good to be back after being out with an injury," he said. "I'm hoping to run faster at Hillsdale in two weeks."

Garrett Smith placed third for the men with a time of 27:04.6. Jack Miles' time of 27:35.1 secured his fourth-place finish, while Peter Shambaugh was close behind at fifth place with a finish time of 27:46.5. Blake Barber had a finish time of 29:09.6, placing him sixth.

"It was an excellent meet to challenge ourselves mentally and see where our training stands," head coach Rob Gallinger said. "I'm proud of the team for a great effort and I can't wait to see how the next meet goes."

LSSU cross country returns to action at the Hillsdale College Invitational on Oct. 6.