The Stony Brook men’s and women’s cross country teams kicked off the 2009 season in stellar fashion on Saturday. Hosting the Seawolves Invitational, the home teams performed at the top notch level that earned them high rankings in the America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The women’s team, led by senior Laura Huet (Wellington, New Zealand), won the Invitational, and the men’s squad came in a solid second.

The women’s squad cruised to a first place finish by dominating the competition, ending well ahead of Quinnipiac, Iona, and Manhattan. Huet took the individual title on the women’s side by completing the 4, 100 meter course in 14:56.49, nearly 16 seconds ahead of the next runner. Stony Brook went on to take the third, fourth, and fifth place finishes also, courtesy of standout performances from various Seawolves. Junior Carolina Cortes (Woodmere, N.Y.) took the third spot (15:16.08), sophomore Kristal Conklin (Middletown, N.Y.) came in fourth (15:18.95), and junior Lisa Voltaire (Stockholm, Sweden) rounded out the top five.

Running a lengthier course, the men’s 6, 200 meters were won by Manhattan, with Stony Brook recording the second place finish. Senior Daire Bermingham (Portmamock, Ireland) took the men’s individual title by completing in 20:13.47, being the only Seawolf in the top three. Gerard Harley (Setauket, N.Y.) finished fourth for Stony Brook ,in 20:52.23.

With the first meet in the books, both squads are looking forward to another impressive season, and the bar has been set high. The women’s team was selected to finish atop the America East rankings in preseason polls. The men were picked to finish second. Both squads are returning key players, and eager to live up to the high expectations.

Off to a good start, both teams look to continue their winning ways in Boston on Friday, when they face off against Harvard and Iona, beginning at 4:00 p.m.’