SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Baylor cross country kicked off their season in high gear on Friday night with a pair of top-3 podium finishes at the IUW Twilight meet at the Classics Elite Soccer Complex.
 
THE RUNDOWN
Led by the second-overall finisher, Hayden Gold, the women's squad took the 4,000-meter title in the Alamo City with 33 team points. Expanding the scoring to the first seven Bears across the finish line, Rosanna Pugh (4^th - 14:51), Jordan Ledington (5^th - 15:00), Anna Garner (8^th - 15:04), Alaina Zamorano (14^th - 15:17), Chloe Gangnath (16^th - 15:22) and Jackie Addy (19^th - 15:34) all contributed to the Bears victory on Friday.
 
Abby Morris finished in 25th just behind Addy, followed by Kat Helmer 30th and Kira Dietrich in 34^th.
 
The men's squad saw Ryan Hodge find a top-10 spot at No. 7 with an 18:43.3 6,000-meter mark to open the season. Aiden Ramshaw (15^th - 19:00), Straton Miller (21^st - 19:05), Nolan Keenan (24^th - 19:08), Devin Duran (27^th - 19:15), Kanalu Wong (34^th - 19:30) and Caleb Ackman (48^th - 19:58) all scored and were only followed by Zach Zawatski, who took 79^th in the event.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Five freshman scored points in their first meet, with four in their respective team's first five.
• The women's team win was the first for either Baylor team in a non-dual meet since the 2018 Bear Twilight that saw the men's team victorious.
• Hayden Gold's second-place finish was the highest for any Baylor woman in a non-dual meet since Anna West took the runner-up spot at the 2017 Big 12 Cross Country Championship.

 
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor cross country takes the Watts Course in Bryan-College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 15^th. The first race of the day is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.