The Tusculum College men's and Women's cross country teams opened the 2013 season by competing at the Hyder-McMahill Collegiate Invitational at the Montreat College Cross Country Course.

The Pioneer women took eighth out of 11 teams with a score of 222 points, while the Tusculum men finished ninth out of 11 schools with a team score of 216 points.

The Tusculum women were led by Maggie Bernabei, as the SAC All-Freshman Team member from 2012 finished in 24th place with a time of 21:33.55. Paige Bible came home in 49th place with a time of 23:05.03, followed one spot later by Kim Brown who was clocked in 23:07.45. Rounding out the scoring for the Pioneers were Ashley Gregg in 80th place (24:46.17) and Lakesa Hendrix in 95th place in 26:35.08.

In men's action, David Cooper was the Pioneers' top finisher as the All-SAC runner took 10th place with a time of 27:12.80. Zachary Simpson finished 33rd in 28:56.50, and Lawson Burrow placed 63rd in a time of 30:17.86. Cory Ramsey was timed in 30:41.58 for 69th place, and Isaac Ringley was the fifth and final scorer for the Pioneers with a time of 35:34.32 for 99th place.

Wingate's women swept the top five places to win the team title with a score of 15 points, followed by Mars Hill (81) and Emmanuel (83). Emmanuel was the men's champion with 21 points, with Mars Hill (45) and Wingate (98) following.

The Pioneers will be back in action next Saturday at the VMI Invitational in Buena Vista, Va. starting at 10 a.m.