It wasn’t the overall result Catasauqua’s cross country team expected, but the Rough Riders anticipate some more favorable results in the future.

The Roughies recently opened their season with a depleted squad due to injuries and situations at the Moravian Academy Lions Invitational. They had a combined nine participants at the meet.

“We’re a little shorthanded right now,” said head coach Kyle Rusnock. “We were missing athletes for different reasons. We should have everybody back soon.

“But our kids ran well.”

Sophomore Aliva Bear was the Roughies’ top female finisher with a 44th-place finish in a time of 23:50. She was followed by senior Lucy Brubaker (49th, 24:30), senior Ashley Ritter (74th, 26:51), and sophomore Delanie Popa-Nina (103, 39:40).

“Our girls ran hard,” said Rusnock. “I was excited for Delanie because it was her first varsity meet.”

Senior Cole Brown paced the boys with a 90th-place finish in 22:04. Behind Brown was senior Edward Popa-Nina (93rd, 22:44), senior Jared Schneck (103rd, 24:55), senior Mitchel Lewis (104th, 25:02), and freshman Gavin Collina (105th, 25:03).

“Cole Brown has been battling some injuries, and he ran with them,” said Rusnock. “Edward, Jared, and Mitchel were pacing each other well. It was Gavin’s first meet, and he looked good.”

Brubaker knows it will be a matter of time before she reaches her peak.

“It was the first meet of the season, and I know I could have ran better,” she said. “My time wasn’t too bad, but I know I will improve. It is about getting better as the season goes on, and I have been through this before.”

Brown also is looking at the big picture.

“I’ve been running good and am excited for my senior year,” said Brown. “With most of us being seniors, we all feed off each other and are excited. So far, we have been off to a good start, and with the help of our coach, we are setting our goals high and working toward achieving our goals.”