BALTIMORE – Just a week after earning top-three finishes at the America East Pre-Conference Meet, including a top finish for the men, the UMBC cross country teams continue their early season schedule with a trip to Annapolis, Md. for the Navy Invitational/Salty Dog Invitational Saturday morning.  Both races are scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. start at the U.S.N.A Golf Club.

The men's team took first place at the conference meet behind America East Male Performer of the Week Eric Schuler (Columbia, Md./Reservoir), who took top individual honors in Vestal, N.Y.  Schuler's time of 25:33.1 is the second-fastest ever recorded in the 13-year Division history of the course.  This marked the first time that Schuler won a collegiate race and the second time he led the Retrievers across the line in his career.

UMBC also picked up top-five finishes from sophomores Redatu Semeon (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) and Hassan Omar (Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson) who placed second and fourth, respectively.

For the women, sophomore Nicole Dawson (Jessup, Md./Hammond) paced the Retrievers in the season-opener, after scoring in each of the team's meets as a freshman.  Dawson placed 11th overall in the 6k race as the Retrievers finished third in the standings.

Freshman Sarah Zielinski (Boonsboro, Md./Boonsboro) earned a top-15 finish, taking 13th overall, and senior captain Cody Mezebish (Westminster, Md./South River) crossed the line in 15th.