The Bruins intercollegiate cross country teams hit the course for the second time on Saturday, Sept. 21, in Columbia, S.C.

The previous week, the brand new BJU runners raced at the Furman Classic. With their first races behind them, the Bruins looked to improve on a solid start to their inaugural season.

Saturday’s meet was the Columbia International Invitational. Wet weather, combined with Columbia International University’s difficult course, made for a challenging meet for the Bruins runners, many of whom were making their cross country debut.

The women’s 5K race started first at 10 a.m. The first Bruin to finish was sophomore Rebekah Spannagel, who crossed the line with a time of 25:24. The Bruins finished in sixth place out of the six competing teams.

The Bruins men began the 8K at 10:45 a.m. Sophomore Andrew Fox was the fastest Bruin and finished with a time of 32:30. Out of seven teams, Bruins took sixth place overall.

Many runners who didn’t participate at the Furman meet got to race on Saturday, and the CIU Invitational was a valuable experience for these new teams. The next meet is the Warrior Invitational at Southern Wesleyan University on Sept. 28.