The fall semester is at its starting point and the Sacramento State cross country season has approached its starting line.

The season kicked off on Aug. 31 at the Wolf Pack Invitational in Reno, Nev. The Hornet men and women’s teams appear to be running down the road for success. Both teams finished in fourth place at the meet. In its first meet last year, the men’s team finished in first place and the women’s in fourth place.

With one meet already recorded in the books, the teams have three more invitationals before the Big Sky Championships on Oct. 27 in Missoula, Mont. Those meets include the Hornet Invitational, the Stanford Invitational and the Bronco Invitational.

Both teams have been training hard for several weeks in preparation for their meets.

“We’re doing a lot of running,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Kathleen Raske said. Raske is also the head coach.

The men’s team comes into the season with a lot of experience, as there are several runners coming back from last season. Juniors Daniel Carlson and Colin Szehner have already made an impact on the team, Raske said. In the first meet this season, Carlson finished 24th and Szehner finished 25th overall to lead the team.

Junior Erin Wachter returns to the women’s team from a solid season she had last year. She competed in all six meets last season and placed second on the team in four of the six.

Newcomers Jodie Leal and

Renisha Robinson will join

Wachter and are two runners people should be on the lookout for, Raske said. She added that Leal’s and Robinson’s competitiveness is one thing that has caught her eye.

“They immediately stepped in and filled some holes,” Raske said.

One thing that may change this year is the possibility that senior Dominic Vogl and sophomore Kristina Holtz would come into the season redshirted. This would mean that both would be able to practice and train with the team but would not compete during the cross country season, according to Raske.

“A final decision has not been made,” Raske said.

Vogl led the men’s team in all but one meet last year and received All-Big Sky Conference honors. Holtz achieved All-Big Sky Conference and was the top finisher for the women’s team in all six meets last year.

The cross country program is also in the process of hiring another assistant coach. A decision on who will get the job is expected to be made as early as this week, Raske said.

The Hornets next meet will be the Sacramento State Hornet Jamboree on Saturday at Granite Park in Sacramento. In 2006, Vogl and Holtz led their respective teams at this event with second place finishes.

“We are working toward our championship season,” Raske said.

Justin McCall can be reached at [email protected].