RENO, Nev. – The starter's gun has sounded for the first time in 2022, marking the beginning of a new season of Jessup Cross Country. Jessup made the trip east on I-80 Thursday to compete in a field of NCAA Division I programs at the Nevada Twilight.
 
Jessup was the only NAIA school to run in Thursday's races. Competing from the NCAA were Nevada, Sacramento State, and UC Riverside.
 
"The main purpose of today wasn't the team score, but more getting back into the competitive spirit," said head coach Jeff Magley. "The first meet is always a reflection of your summer training. We've only had two weeks of practice together as a team, so that first competition is always a reflection of what transpired over the summer and summer training. And so, it was good to be able to evaluate that and see where we're at."
 
Leading the Jessup women's team was Azalea Prince, coming off an All-GSAC season and a trip to the NAIA National Championship a year ago. Prince ran a time of 26:28 in the 5.7K race, but right behind her was the lone newcomer on the roster, Elizabeth Shykowski.
 
Making her debut with the Warriors, Shykowski posted a time of 26:52, 24 seconds behind the team's leader.
 
"No surprises with Azalea out front for us as our number one runner," added Magley. "But it was also really nice to see our newcomer (Shykowski) as our number two runner. She embraced the challenge of the race today and did a great job. What impressed me most was just competing and the competitive spirit she showed."
 
On the men's side, leading the Warriors was Logan Dodge, with a time of 28.01 in the 7K. Dodge ran on the track & field team a season ago, but Thursday was his first time running a cross country race since he was in high school in 2019.
 
Magley spoke about Dodge, adding, "For Logan, getting used to racing again and back in the spirit of cross country, he did a nice job, worked hard in the second half of the race, and kind of showed that he's going to be a leader for us."
 
Behind Dodge was Luciano Linares with a time of 28:24. Xavier Morales (29:11), Jonathan Conklin (29:22), Zachary Heberlien (30:03), Travis Brown (30:05), Josh Spiva (30:37), and Ethan Loomis (31:16) rounded out the pack.
 
Haley Borjas (28:11), Vivianna Gardea (30:44), and Hailey Hopkins (32:16) were also in the field on the women's side.
 
With one race in their pocket, the Warriors get back to practice before they next run on September 10 at the Kim Duyst Invitational in Turlock.
   
William Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on William Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: William Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).