IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Drake University cross country team raced for the first time in 2016 with a season-opening race at the Hawkeye Invitational on Friday, Sept. 2, evening.
 
Coming after just one week of hard training, the meet serves as one of the benchmarks of the Bulldogs' upcoming season.
 
"We didn't race the whole team, but for those who did, tt was a good way to get our season underway and a good way to shake off some of the summer rust," said head coach Dan Hostager. "It was our first hard workout of the fall, so it was great to see our freshman run so well."
 
Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.), the Missouri Valley Conference runner-up last season, started his senior season off by finishing second in the men's 6-kilometer race in 17:59.5. As a team the Bulldogs finished eighth in a field that included Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois and Missouri. Iowa State's Toby Hardwick won the race in 15:57.6.
 
Freshman Kyle Cass (Deforest, Wis.) was the second Bulldog across the line in 19:11.5 for a 46^th place finish.
 
The women's team finished eighth in a similar field on a 3-kilometer course. Veteran Bailee Cofer (Overland Park, Kan.) was 11^th overall in 10:32.9 followed by three freshmen including Mykaela Cole (Urbandale, Iowa) in 35^th with a 10:56.9 finish.
 
The Bulldogs return to competition next Friday, Sept. 9, at the Oz Memorial, hosted by the University of Minnesota.
 
Hawkeye Invitational
Iowa City, Iowa – Sept. 2, 2016
Ashton Cross Country Course
 
Men's Team Results
1. Iowa State, 31
2. Iowa, 60
3. Illinois, 110
4. Illinois State, 128
5. Creighton, 143
6. Missouri, 166
7. UNI, 171
8. Drake, 184
9. Bradley, 186
 
Drake Individual Men's Results – 6k
2. Reed Fischer, 17:59.5
46. Kyle Cass, 19:11.5
50. Chris Kaminski, 19.18.0
58. Kyle Brandt, 19:25.6
80. Matt Cozine, 20:08.8
84. Xavier Lechleitner, 20:34.3
85. George Webb, 20:35.3
89. Alec Bognar
 
Women's Team Results
1. Iowa, 47
2. Creighton, 79
3. UNI, 80
4. Iowa State, 99
5. Illinois State, 101
6. Bradley, 158
7. Missouri, 164
8. Drake, 187
 
Drake Individual Women's Results – 3k
11. Bailee Cofer, 10:32.9
35. Mykaela Cole, 10:56.9
50. Morgan Garcia, 11:12.6
60. Olivia Rogers, 11:24.1
74. Kayla Giuliano, 11:43.4
83. Mackenzie Davis, 12:40.5