SAN FRANCISCO – The University of San Francisco men's and women's cross country teams kicked off the 2015 season with their first training session in Golden Gate Park on Tuesday morning. The two squads participated in a fitness test, which involved a continuous 2K loop along trails in the park. 

"It's always interesting and exciting to see the newcomers perform and get a chance to evaluate their fitness," said head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. 

The program will welcome 13 newcomers this year, with eight new faces on the men's team and five on the women's. 

"On the men's side, a big advantage we have is that four of our incoming guys have competed at the university level in the UK and have raced actually 12,000 meters, as opposed to 8,000 or 10,000 meters," Lehman-Winters said. "Our women's team will be better the deeper and deeper we get into the season."

Despite losing All-WCC performers Jose Maderas, Eric Causey and Kate Jamboretz, Lehman-Winters is looking forward to seeing her incomers contribute at a high level. 

"We're super excited for the quantity of new student-athletes we have coming into our program and also excited for the quality," said Lehman-Winters. "We've never had, combined on both the men's and women's side, as strong of an incoming class as we do this year."

The women's and men's teams both finished the 2014 season with a fourth place finish at the WCC Championships, with the women ending their run of five-consecutive WCC titles. Elena Burkard, an All-WCC First Team performer in 2012, returns for her junior season on the women's side.

On Wednesday, the Dons will begin a five-day training camp at Soda Springs near Lake Tahoe. 

"It's a great chance to get out of San Francisco, run on some trails and get quality training in," Lehman-Winters said.

The Dons will open up the 2015 campaign with back-to-back home meets in Golden Gate Park, with the San Francisco Invitational set for Sept. 5, followed by a rare dual meet against Boise State on Sept. 11.