AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University cross country teams had the opportunity to run on their home course on Saturday morning, as the program hosted the second annual Ave Maria Invitational. The men's unit put together a stellar effort to claim the team championship over the reigning Sun Conference champions from Southeastern University, while the Fire surpassed the Gyrenes for the team title on the women's side.

On the men's side, Ave Maria's team title was powered by three of the event's top five finishers. Adam Paga was the top AMU finisher, running the course at North Park in 27:04.49 to place second. The time was the fastest 8k time of the season for Ave Maria, and one of the top 20 times in school history. It was also the fastest time run by an AMU runner at the North Park course in the three events held there over the past two seasons.

Joseph Perreault followed with a fourth-place finish, crossing the finish line at 27:12.99. Jackson Pope was right behind the sophomore at 27:15.97, placing fifth in the field of 60 runners. Ave Maria's team title was sealed by their final two scorers, as Jonathan Kohr and Jorge Jimenez both placed in the top 15. Kohr recorded a time of 28:10.10 on the home course, while Jimenez crossed the line with a time of 28:21.63.

Thanks to their five top-15 finishers, Ave Maria claimed the title title by four points over the Fire of Southeastern, who were led by individual champion John Perez-Dunn. Florida National placed third in the team race, with Keiser and St. Thomas finishing off the standings.

The women's race saw the AMU debut of Theresa Long, who was Ave Maria's leading runner in her first outing as a Gyrene. The sophomore placed second, behind reigning Sun Conference champion Julia Rohm, running the Ave Maria course in 19:30.90. That time was also the fastest run by a Gyrene in a 5k thus far this season, and ranked as one of the 20 fastest times in program history. 

Mary Goetz and Lily Burke recorded top ten finishes for Ave Maria to aid in the runner-up effort. The senior crossed the finish line at 20:35.20, while the freshman was just over four seconds behind her at 20:39.40. Abigail Rall and Lillian Brodeur, two more freshmen, produced the final two counting scores for the Gyrenes. Rall finished eleventh with a time of 21:28.10, while Brodeur clocked in at 22:50.40.

Southeastern, who is currently ranked 22nd in the newest NAIA Coaches' Poll, dominated the women's event with seven of the top ten finishers - Long, Goetz, and Burke were the lone exceptions. South Florida State College placed third, with Keiser, Florida National, and St. Thomas rounding out the field.

Next weekend, the Gyrenes will head to Holloway Park in Lakeland to run in the FLRunners.com Invitational. Ave Maria will run in two more events in the regular season before again facing off with Southeastern at The Sun Conference Championships, which will be hosted by the Fire in Lakeland.