WINONA, Minn. — It was just the type of season-opening performance Saint Mary's University cross country coach John Skemp was hoping for.

"I thought everyone ran very well — maybe even a little better than I had expected," said Skemp, whose men's team placed third and the women's team fourth at the season-opening SMU Invitational Saturday afternoon at the SMU Trails. "There was some pretty stiff competition, and we did a nice job.

"It was a good race for both teams."

Gustavus swept the team titles, outdistancing Concordia by eight points in the men's race, while running away from the field in capturing the women's title.

Concordia-St. Paul's Marcus Breitbarth won the men's four-mile race, posting a time of 23:13, while Desiree Budd of St. Scholastica came close to breaking the course record in the three-mile women's race, blowing away the field with a time of 19:55.

Keith Peischek (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) led the way for the SMU men, placing seventh overall with a time of 24:15. Andy Boisjolie (Austin, Minn.) was 12th (24:51), followed by Jim Bansley (Chicago, Ill. / 14th, 24:51), Jim Baertsch (Winona, Minn. / 16th, 25:09), B.J. Klenke (Jordan, Minn. / 17th, 25:10), Andy Marter (Winona, Minn. / 21st, 25:47) and Karl Hatteberg (Blooming Prairie, Minn. / 23rd, 26:14).

"Keith ran a great race, as did our two freshmen (Boisjolie and Bansley)," praised Skemp. "This was a great way to start for all the guys."

On the women's side, Theresa Miller (New Berlin, Wis.) and Renee Willkom (Cadott, Wis.) led the SMU charge, placing 11th and 12th, respectively, with times of 21:54 and 21:58. The Cardinals' pack running continued as Ellen Koranda (Blue Earth, Minn.), Daysha Schliep (Holyoke, Colo.) and Jenny Folgers (Johnsburg, Ill.) crossed the finish line in 15th (22:24), 16th (22:25) and 20th (22:40) places. Natalie Cossetta (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Emilee Conley (Fennimore, Wis.) rounded out the Cardinals' top finishers, placing 26th (23:59) and 27th (24:07).

"The women had some nice pack running," said Skemp. "They turned in some good times for a first meet and hopefully we can continue to improve on those times as the season progresses."