The Butler men’s and women’s cross country teams both posted solid showings in the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend last weekend.

The men, led by sophomore Callum Hawkins, placed 16th of 26 teams in attendance, while the women placed 22nd of 28 teams.

Hawkins has opened the 2011 season on a torrid pace and has earned some national attention.

He placed seventh at the Roy Griak Invitational last week and finished fifth at Notre Dame despite racing in the fastest heat.

He finished the five-mile course in a time of 24:04—a mere five seconds behind the winner, Brigham Young University senior Miles Batty.

Butler’s second finisher was sophomore Ross Clarke, who placed second in his heat and 44th overall with a time of 24:53.

Freshman Tom Curr finished with a time of 24:57, which was good for third for among Butler men and 54th overall.

Redshirt freshman Harry Ellis finished 128th with a time of 25:50, and junior Kevin Oblinger finished 139th with a time of 26:05 to round out the top five for the Bulldogs.

BYU won the men’s title handily over Florida State, Princeton, Stanford and Washington State, the second to fifth place teams, respectively.

In the women’s races, sophomore Shelbi Burnett was Butler’s highest finisher at 47th, completing the five-kilometer course in 17:48.

“It was a big step forward for me,” Burnett said. “It was nice to be in a race where I could play to my strengths and get in a groove.”

Junior Lauren McKillop finished 85th in 18:06, and fellow junior Becky Howarth finished 107th.

Senior Lauren Haberkorn placed 146th. Junior Alyson Fosnot finished 163rd to round out Butler’s top five.

Florida State took home the women’s title ahead of Arkansas-Fayetteville.

The men’s and women’s squads will next run on Oct. 14 at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill.