By Elisabeth Tharp | Broadcast Reporter
Baylor’s Cross Country team hosted the annual Bear Twilight Invitational yesterday at the Heart of Texas Soccer Complex in Waco.
This was Baylor’s 15th-straight year in starting their season off with a home meet.
The women ran a 4K race with 1 perimeter loop with woods and 1 perimeter loop without woods. The men ran a 6K race with 2 perimeter loops with woods and 1 perimeter loop without woods.
For the women, Lindsey Bradley finished first and Jordan West finished first for the men.
The competition was the first meet back from a stress fracture injury for sophomore Alison Andrews-Paul.
“It was a tough moment for me, being told your season is over before it has even begun today,” Alison said. ” I felt really good, surprisingly good. Hopefully this is a good sign for the rest of the season.”
Even though he came out on top individually for the men’s division, West was more focused on the talent of the whole team.
“I love the guys on the team so much. Seeing them compete tonight was the best feeling and better than individually winning this race by a long shot,” West said.
When asked how he thought the race went, West said, “I wasn’t originally planning on running this race until about 5 days ago. I was just feeling really good after last Saturday and I asked my coach if I could run.”
Last time West ran this race was his sophomore year.
“I took a nasty spill in the woods and didn’t finish the race so I wanted some redemption,” West said.
At the end of both races, Baylor Cross Country head coach Todd Harbour reflected positively about the outcome of the night.
“I thought that both the ladies and the men ran extremely well for considering the heat,” Harbour said. “They did a great job. We will go back to work, but I think this was a good opener for us.”
The night was just a taste of what the Bears are going to bring to this season, but they need to continue pushing with their stamina to stay on top.
“We have just got to continue to put the work in to get stronger and stay healthy. That is the main thing, stay healthy. We need to take steps to continue to be a championship team,” Harbour said.
The cross-country team will have next weekend off before their next meet, the Ken Garland Invitational, on September 16th in Denton, Texas.
