Clinton, Miss. - The Millsaps Majors men's and women's cross country team competed in their first meet this weekend in Clinton at Choctaw Trails. In what turned out to be a very hot and dry day, the Majors paced themselves what seems to be a  fourth for the ladies and a sixth place finish for men, all out of eleven teams.

“It's always good to get the first meet out of the way,” said third year Head Coach Andy Till. “I am very pleased with our effort despite the extreme conditions.”

On the women's side, all six Major performers finished in the top 50 while four of them finished in the top 30 in the 4K meet. Freshman Melinda Soloman led the way with a time of 17:04.24 (6:52.1 mile) for an 18^th place finish. Not too far behind was Mikaela Thurber who finished 20^th with a time of 17:40.14 (6:56.2). Sophomore Courtney Aymett would make huge strides from her performances last season, as she finished 22^nd with a time of 17:22.58 (6:59.4).

Rounding out the field for the Majors was sophomore Haley Brown finishing 27th (17:43.26; 7:07.8 mile), freshman Sara Humbert finished 39^th (18:06.17; 7:17.0 mile) and sophomore Sara Sacks rounding things out in 49^th (18:58.74; 7:38.2 mile).

“The girls competed hard and gave us something to build on,” added Till. “We need to continue building a pack and running more as one.”

 The Majors also received key performances from their men as they placed as a team for the first time 2009, also, all in the top 50 in their 5K meet. Freshman Ben Parva finished 15^th in the race as he went straight at the pack, ready to run. Parva ran a time of 17:25.02 (5:36.4 mile). Sophomore Will Napier finished second for the Majors and 30^th overall with an 18:30.08 time (5:57.3 mile). Freshman Sam Martin finished 37^th overall with a time of 19:01.59 (6:07.5 mile).

Rounding out the pack for the Majors was sophomore Thomas Silas in 39^th(19:03.60; 6:08.1 mile), freshman Travis Hebeler in 40^th (19:07.18; 6:09.3 mile) and sophomore Chris Duck in 46^th (19:44.21; 6:31.2 mile).

“Ben (Parva) was ready to compete and went out in the lead pack quickly,” explained Till. “We were a little out of sync as a team, but we fought and hung in there and have a chance to build something.”

The team will  be back in action of Saturday, September 10 as they travel to New Orleans for the Loyola Wolfpack Invitational at Lafraneiere Park. The runs are expected to begin at 8 a.m.