CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- The Ave Maria University cross country teams competed for the first time in more than four months on Saturday, running in the Mustang NAIA Preview Meet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event, hosted by Mount Mercy University, was held at the Seminole Valley Cross Country Course, which will also serve as the host site for the NAIA Cross Country Championships in three weeks time.

The women's meet saw ten teams competing, with No. 9 The Master's University earning the team championship. AMU's top finisher was junior Mary Goetz, who finished eighth of 69 finishers with a time of 19:21.70. Following Goetz for the Gyrenes was Second Team All-Sun Conference selection Anna Morris, who completed the 5k course in Cedar Rapids in a time of 21:01.80. Morris also finished in the top half of the 72 runners that entered the race at 36th.

Ave Maria's team score was also added to by Bernadette Glasgow, whose time of 22:19.90 ranked third among Gyrenes. Peyton Brugger followed with a 23:26.60 time, and Grace McKillip finished off AMU's scoring runners by running the course in 23:40.50. The individual champion was Arianna Ghioroso, who finished more than 23 seconds before the closest runner at 18:19.10.

In the men's race, eight schools competed with the same result: a team title for No. 12 The Master's University. Ave Maria's top runner on the day was First Team All-Sun Conference selection and Freshman of the Year Joseph Perreault, who completed the championship course in 27:47.40. Second Team All-Sun Conference runner Adam Paga finished second among Gyrenes at 28:41.20.

DJ Mason was the number three finisher for the Gyrenes at 29:09.60, while Jonathan Kohr followed at 29:19.90. Christopher Sanderson rounded out the Ave Maria team score as the number five runner, finishing the 8k course in 29:32.30. The individual champion was Goshen College's Nelson Kemboi, who outran Daniel Rush from The Masters by 8.1 seconds.

A pair of Ave Maria runners will return to the Hawkeye State in three weeks for the 2021 NAIA Cross County National Championships. Goetz and Perreault, by virtue of their performances in November's Sun Conference Championships, will compete on April 9 at the same course, the Seminole Valley Cross Country Course. The men's race is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. central time in Cedar Raids, with the women's race following at 11:30 a.m.