DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Vikings kicked off their season with a trip to the Loras College Bob Schultz Invite, with the women going head-to-head with six teams and the men racing against eight teams. Both Augustana's women and men finished in second place with 50 points and 57 points, respectively.
 
For the women, fifth-year Emma Odle took the race out early and never looked back. Odle won the women's 5k in 18:36.89, nearly 21 seconds ahead of the next finisher and 13 seconds faster than her opening 5k from the 2023 season. Following Odle, freshman Keira Nelson debuted her college running career in a 20:08.74, good for ninth place overall. Sammy Lehr, Ellie DeFarno, and Marie Weber rounded out the Vikings top five with times of 20:21.97, 20:27.10, and 20:50.77 good for 13th, 14th, and 17th place. Both Lehr and DeFarno's times bested their 2023 5k debuts by 60 seconds and 30 seconds, respectively. 
 
On the men's side, the Vikings were led by seniors Finbar Martin and Grant Ackard, who finished seventh and tenth with times of 15:25.56 and 15:36.86, respectively, for their 5k runs. Alex Gazarek, Donovan Garro, and Emiliano Almendariz rounded out the top five with times of 15:44.84, 16:02.09, and 16:04.13. The Vikings claimed two of the top 10 spots in the race.
 
Both teams return to action on Saturday, September 14 at the Luther All-American Invitational in Decorah, Iowa.