The University of Detroit Mercy men's and women's cross country team returned to campus over the weekend, and while the first few tasks involved the ordinary moving back into the dorms and physical check-up, the team went at it with its first team practice on Monday. On Tuesday, the Titans hit the ground with their Palmer Park Time Trial.

“We have been looking forward to the season and it's great to get it started with a successful test to see where we are at,” said head coach Guy Murray.

In all, six harriers topped their career best and nine more shed some time off of last year's time trial.

On the men's side, sophomore Erik Westbrook (Fremont, MI/Fremont) was the top runner with a personal-record 20:55.

“A great start for Erik after a rough rookie season,” said Murray. “He worked hard this summer and will be a big factor in our success this year.”

Junior and two-time All-Horizon League performer Pat Liederbach (Petoskey, MI/Petoskey) finished second in 21:12, shaving nearly a minute off of last year's run, while senior Alex Gould (Comstock Park, MI/Comstock Park) was third with a career-best 21:18, a 3:21 improvement from 2008.

“Alex has been working hard and is ready for a big senior season,” said Murray. “He will be a threat to the varsity this year.”

Junior Ryan Ayala (Coopersville, MI/Coopersville) was fourth with a PR of 21:18, while juniors Alex Harris (Huntington Woods, MI/Shrine) (21:31) and Kevin Smalley (Gladwin, MI/Gladwin) (21:50) placed fifth and sixth.

Rounding out the Titan squad was sophomore Bob Radlich (Cheektowaga, NY/Cleveland Hill) with a personal best 21:55, sophomore and 2008 Titan Rookie of the Year Alex Vanias (Leroy, MI/Pine River) at 22:01 and sophomore Gregg Saldutti (Waterford, MI/Our Lady Of The Lakes) (23:59) and Brian Greenhoe (Sand Lake, MI/Grant) (25:12).

The women were led by last year's team MVP junior Kristie Ferrans (Carleton, MI/Monroe), who ran a 14:01 for a new personal record.

Senior Jennifer DeFauw (Harper Woods, MI/Grosse Pointe North) was second, taking 16 seconds off of last year's time with finishing in 14:34, while sophomore Kirstin Mooney (Stirling ON/St. Theresa Catholic) hit a PR with a 56-second improvement with her 14:39.

Freshmen Alexandria Vintevoghel (Casco, MI/Marine City) and Katrina Oberski (Clyde, MI/Pt. Huron) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in 14:44 and 14:46, while sophomore Stephanie Rossman (Caledonia, MI/Caledonia) was next in at 15:00 flat, over a 2-minute difference from her freshman campaign run.

Rounding out the team were freshman Sarah Martinez (Grand Blanc, MI/Flint Powers) (15:56), sophomore Kristina Arko (Euclid, OH/Euclid) (16:02) and rookie Katie Weishaar (Plymouth, MI/Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard) (16:12).

Detroit will continue to train for the upcoming season, which gets underway on Sept. 5 when UDM makes the trip to Rochester to run in the Golden Grizzly Open.