Georgia’s cross country teams cruised to victories in both of their races during a season-opening dual meet with Georgia Tech at the Bulldogs’ new cross country course in Bishop, Ga., on Friday evening.

In their first meet on the course designed around the UGA Equestrian Complex, the Lady Bulldogs blasted Georgia Tech 15-85 during their 5K race. Sophomore Kristie Krueger registered the first win of her cross country career after clocking a 17:42.

On the men’s side, senior Bejan Abtahi led the Bulldogs to a 15-69 win over the Yellow Jackets after winning the 8K race.

“It was a great night and the kids were really excited to get out here and run,” said Georgia cross country coach Jeff Pigg. “The biggest thing this meet showed was who really did the work over the summer, and a lot of our team has worked hard and did a great job.”

Krueger, who was runner-up to teammate Natalie Picchetti at last year’s meet, was the only runner to break 18 minutes as the Lady Bulldogs had the first 11 finishers across the finish line.

“I liked the course a lot and it was great to finally see it on the warm-ups and during the meet,” said Krueger. “I’m really happy with the team this year. We have good freshmen coming in who are only going to get better, and the girls returning are healthy and fit. I feel that we are only going to go up from here.”

Junior Bridget Lyons, who joins Krueger as the team’s captains, was second after clocking an 18:01 as senior McKayla Plank, a 2006 All-American at Iona, finished third (18:16). Georgia other scorers were junior Emily Houston (4th – 18:20) and freshman Allyson McGinty (5th – 18:32).

“Kristie looked fantastic, Bridget and McKayla stepped up, and having Emily Houston back and healthy was good for us,” Pigg said. “Also, freshman Allyson McGinty came in and did a great job for us as well.”

The first nine finishers in the men’s race were also all wearing red and black. Abtahi managed to edge sophomore teammate Matt Cleaver for the win after Cleaver sped to a 26:01 finish.

“It was a great course, this is a true cross country course,” said Abtahi, a team captain who missed the 2008 season after interning for the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado. “The footing isn’t all even and it has everything: hills, flats, a lot of long straight-aways that kind of wear you out mentally. I have not been back in a Georgia cross country uniform for two years and it is a long time to wait, but the Georgia jersey has never meant this much to me before.”

In his collegiate debut, freshman Bill Matthews finished just behind Cleaver for third place after Matthews clocked a 26:03. Sophomore Joseph Hackney (4th – 26:04) and freshman Brian Detweiler (5th – 26:05) were the Bulldogs’ other pair of scorers against their Yellow Jacket competition.

“Bejan and Matt did a great job tonight, but our men’s team isn’t really about one individual, it’s just about a group of guys that have worked really hard,” said Pigg. “Our overall effort was good and it shows that they weren’t content with how we did last year. They want to get better and they worked really hard this summer.”

This marks the second year in a row that Georgia has taken both of the races versus its in-state rival. Georgia’s track and field teams also won both the men’s and women’s competitions versus Georgia Tech in Atlanta during the 2009 track season.

Georgia returns to action as both teams host the Georgia Cross Country Invitational in Bishop on Saturday, Sept. 19. Collegiate teams as well as high school teams from the area will be competing in a variety of races during the Bulldogs’ second meet of the year.

- Georgia Sports Communications