MASON CITY, Iowa - The Bethany men's and women's cross country teams continued their seasons in the early morning Saturday at the NIACC Trent Smith Invitational.
 
The Viking men had their first 8k race of the year, and for the three freshmen, the first 8k race of their careers. The team was once again led by first-year Andreas Guessregen, whose time of 28:51.58 was good enough to place 24th among collegiate athletes. He was once again followed by James Younge, who placed 30th with a time of 31:12.82. Tanner Rosenthal placed 34th among collegiate men with a time of 32:28.05 in the first 8k race of his career and fellow freshman August Weinstein made his season debut with a time of 38:34.84, placing 41st.
 
The Viking women saw similar success in their second 5k race of the season. Campbell Amundson improved on her time from two weeks ago at St. Olaf with a time of 21:06.60, placing her 12th overall. The Vikings then had three finishes in a row, as sophomore Taryn Zellman's time of 25:56.97 was good enough for 31st place. She was promptly followed by Lauren Bauer in 32nd with a time of 25:58.75 and Juliana Ewald in 33rd with a time of 26:44.45. Gracelyn Macelak finished in 38th with a time of 32:48.44. These five finishes saw the women end the meet with a score of 88 getting fourth overall.
 
"I thought the team really fought today through some heat and personal battles," said Head Coach Dominic Santina. "It was good to finally score as a team on the women's side. The men were able to get to their set race distance of the 8k for the first time this season. A good day, we will work to see some improvements at St. Olaf next week."
 
The Vikings' next meet is at the St. Olaf Invitational next Saturday in Northfield.