DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University cross country teams opened their 2015 season on Friday evening at the Bulldog Classic 4k at Ewing Park on the Southside of Des Moines.

The meet, which comes after just a week of training as a team, served as the program's initial benchmark of the team's fitness.

“It was a good, first hard workout of the season,” said Drake head coach Dan Hostager. “It was good to get one under our belt and it gives our younger kids the opportunity to step up and they looked strong. Each week builds on itself and the month of September is about training and that's where our focus is now.”

The Bulldogs raced against competitors from Southwestern Community College and easily swept the top spots in both the men's and women's 4-kilometer races.

Junior Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.) took top honors in the men's race, winning 13:00 while sophomore Chris Kaminski (New Lenox, Ill.) was second in 13:13. Josh Yeager (Center Point, Iowa) was the top newcomer for the Bulldogs, taking third in 13:26 as Drake runners claimed the top seven spots in the race.

The women's team was equally dominant with the first 12 collegiate runners across the line all decked out in blue. Senor Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) finished first in 14:35 while Taylor Scholl (Prior Lake, Minn.) was third in 15:31 followed by Bailee Cofer (Overland Park, Kan.) in fourth. Former Drake standout Casey McDermott, competing for Runablaze, was second overall in 14:43.

The Bulldogs return to action Friday, Sept. 11, at the annual Oz Memorial hosted by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.