Both cross country teams ran in the Southern Stampede Cross Country Invitational this past weekend in Joplin, Missouri. The men finished in second and the women took sixth.

The men were once again led by Heart of America Athletic Conference Runner of the Week and freshman Eddie Esquivel.

Esquivel, who finished first at the team’s last meet, cracked the top 10 by just two seconds with a time of 26:35.

The next BU man behind Esquivel was junior Gunnar Hays. Hays finished with a time of 27:01, which was good for 19th.

Sophomore Corey Matteson finished with a time of 27:18 for 26th place, rounding out the team’s same top three runners as its last meet, in the same order.

Four more Wildcat runners placed in the top 50 with sophomore Jamie Stuery in 38th, freshman Joe Linder in 43rd, sophomore Andrew Dare in 46th and senior Vincent Tadokoro in 49th.

All 10 Baker men runners finished in the top 100 on the way to their second-place finish. Sophomore Andrew Emanuels just missed the top 50 with his 54th place finish, while sophomore Carter Breithaupt ended up in 80th and freshman Joshua Bostick in 95th.

The men ran in the College/juco race for a treacherous 8 kilometers. The University of St. Mary took first place with all of its top five runners finishing in the top 15 overall. Baker edged Columbia College by just nine points for second place.

The women finished in sixth place overall and placed three runners in the top 50 in the 5K. They were coming off their first place team title as well as the top three runners at the Maple Leaf Invitational on Sept. 6 in Baldwin City in a 4K race.

Sophomore Rachael Ash, who finished third at the Maple Leaf Invitational, led the way for the Wildcats with her team best 24th place finish in a time of 19:26. Three seconds behind Ash was freshman Sarah Hollis, who finished in 27th place.

The individual champion of the Maple Leaf Invitational, sophomore Jillian Benson, finished in 32nd with a time of 19:43.

Although in reverse order, the women’s top three remained the same after two weeks between their first two races.

Freshmen Autumn Sifuentes and Brenda McCollum finished in the top 100. Sifuentes finished in 82nd place and McCollum in 88th with times just under 21 minutes. The two finished 11th and 12th at the Maple Leaf Invitational.

Finishing just outside the top 100 were freshmen Caitlin Apollo and Ziara McDowell in 107th and 121st. Sophomore Amanda Moody was 12 seconds off McDowell’s pace and finished 125th.

The women also ran in the College/juco division of the race against fellow conference foe Evangel University, which finished in 11th. Oklahoma City University took first place followed by Columbia College and the University of Central Oklahoma.

On Oct. 4, both teams will compete in the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.