Sept. 8, 2001

ARLINGTON, Texas - Baylor's men's and women's cross country teams both began the season with a bang, as each team claimed first place finishes at the UTA Season Opener Saturday.

BU's women's team led the field scoring just 32 points. Texas Christian finished second (53), while Oklahoma placed third (90), North Texas followed in fourth (115), and Southern Methodist rounded out the field scoring 145 points.

On the men's side Baylor tallied 37 points and was followed by North Texas (62), Oklahoma (74), Texas-Arlington (107), Southern Methodist (119), and Texas Christian (120).

Top performers for the Bears included senior Kara Newton on the women's side and sophomore Matt Chance for the men. Newton finished in second place in the two-mile run with a time of 11:40, just 22 seconds behind winner Gladys Keitany from Texas Christian. Chance also earned a second place finish for the Bears. Chance turned in a time of 20:14 for the four-mile race. He fell short to TCU's Eliad Njabi who captured first place with a time of 19:54.

BU's Ferenc Bekesi was the only other Baylor runner to finish in the top-five as he placed fifth with a time of 20:50.

Baylor's cross country teams will be back in action Saturday, Sept.15 when they travel to Houston to compete in the Rice Invitational.