ROCHESTER, Mich. – The University of Evansville cross country teams both finished in 26th place on Saturday at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Championships in Rochester, Michigan. The 26th places finish was the best performance that the women’s team has ever had at the Great Lakes Regional.
For the men, Senior Ryan Witters set the pace for the Aces, finishing 107th out of 216 competitors with a 10-K time of 32:43.03. Witters’ time was good for third best all-time at UE. Freshman Andrew Barrett finished second for UE in 146th overall in a time of 33:31.12, followed by junior Bryan Denny in 163rd overall with a time of 33:55.41. Sophomore Sam Mires was fourth and 176th overall in 34:27.45 followed by senior Chris Kipchirchir in 177th with a time of 34:27.61. Senior Max Cordier finished in 180th in 34:36.78 and sophomore Cody Stein came in 196th with a time of 35:28.73 to round out the pack for Evansville. The top five men for UE set new personal best times for the 10-K.
On the women’s side, freshman Kelby Jenkins set the pace for the Aces for the first time this season with a 119th place finish with a 6-K time of 23:00.02. Jenkins’ time moved her into third all time for 6-K times at UE. Sophomore Lauren Zeabart finished second for the Aces and 149th overall with a time of 23:27.88 followed by junior Melissa Truex in 154th in 23:39.43. Sophomore Shelby Cron finished fourth overall for the Purple Aces with a 167th overall finish in a time of 23:52.75, followed by junior Lauren Shaftlein in 183rd overall with a time of 24:14.92. Freshman Nicole Kreuzman finshed in 196th with a time of 24:33.81 and senior Jaclyn Dippel finished 208th overall with a time of 24:53.82 to round out Evansville’s efforts on Saturday. All seven women who ran in the Great Lakes Regional set new personal best records in the 6-K.
“I felt our teams went out and did a great job today,” said UE head coach Don Walters. “I can’t ask more of our team when 12 of the 14 runners went out and set personal records. It was a tough competition against the best in the country, and I couldn’t be more pleased with our results.”
Cincinnati’s Eric Finan took first place in the men’s 10-K with a time of 30:25.34 with Wisconsin taking the men’s overall team victory. Emily MacLeod of Michigan State took first in the women’s 6-K race with a time of 20:18.76, with Michigan State also taking the women’s overall team title.
