Principia, Ill. - The Columbia men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Principia Home Opener in Principia Ill. today. A total of six Cougar men and three women competed in the event, which was hosted by Principia College. The 18^th-ranked men's team finished­­ in 1^st place with a perfect team score.

Senior Julia Montgomery led the Cougars on the women's side, finishing in third place overall with a time of 16:42 followed by sophomore Madison May who placed 6^th with a time of 16:49. Rachel Davis also competed for Columbia and finished 12^th overall with a time of 18:50.

Tyler Lawson (19:48), Tommy Skosky (19:57), Michael McCulloch (19:58), Brennan Cape (19:58), and Seth Schenck (20:13) took the top five spots on the men's side while Devin Sander (20:50) finished in 7^th place.

The two squads will return to action on Saturday, September 12^th to take part in the Freed Speed Open Meet. The event will be hosted by the Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn.