ESCANABA — Sophomore Lauren Peters of Munising will be the leader of the Bay de Noc Community College women’s cross country team this fall.

Led by third-year coach Jim Murtha, the Norse men and women open their seasons today at Concordia College in Mequon, Wisconsin, with their next event on Sept. 28 at the University of Minnesota. They also have a meet on Oct. 12 hosted by Lawrence in Appleton, Wisconsin, before completing the regular season on Oct. 18 at the Upper Peninsula Championships hosted by Northern Michigan University at the NMU Golf Course in Chocolay Township.

Peters brings a year of experience after showing marked improvement during her freshman season. In wet and muddy conditions in Appleton, she posted a six-kilometer time of 30 minutes, 55 seconds, improving the previous week’s time by the better part of two minutes.

In the final week of the season, she posted her best 5K time of 25:08, and after the season was selected a Scholar All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association Cross Country Coaches Association. She help make the Bay women one of the top 20 cross country teams by grade-point average in the nation.

The men’s team is led by sophomore James Young of Gladstone, who represented the Norse at the NJCAA national championships in Kansas last season.