FULLERTON, Calif. - The LMU women's cross country team opened their season with a strong showing at the Mark Covert Classic on Saturday in Fullerton, California. 

 

"This was a fantastic start to our season. Our returners showed a ton of improvement from last year, and did a great job of executing the plan," said head coach Chloe Curtis.  

 

The team improved on their fifth place finish in 2022 with a fourth place showing on Saturday. Sophomore Hayden Washington continued to impress with a ninth place overall finish. She shaved nearly 40 seconds off of her best and moved up six spots in the final mile.  

 

Senior Lauren Wagner had a stellar performance as well, taking 13th overall. She finished in 18:19.4. 

 

Rylee Guinn and Kennedy Bartee both had strong debut races. Guinn finished in 22nd with a time of 18:36.4. Bartee finished 36th overall and set a personal best with a finish of 19:03.9.  

 

Shelby Page was the final scoring finisher for the Lions. Page sat out the track season in the spring of 2023, so seeing her finish where she did was a welcome sight. 

 

"The freshmen were aggressive and really stepped up for us today. An 18:45 team average is a very encouraging number," continued Curtis. 

 

The Lions will be back in action checking out the WCC Championship course next week at Pepperdine. That meet is set for September 9 and will kick off at 8:00 a.m. (PT). 

 

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