Results (PDF)
The Bulldogs ran against a strong field Saturday at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Invitational, hosted by the University of Louisville. The meet served as a precursor to the NCAA Championships, which will also take place at the E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park next month.Â
The women placed 11
th of 29 teams and were led by sophomore
Josephine Thestrup. Thestrup placed fifth in the women's unseeded race, finishing the 6k course with a time 21:11.0.
"I am really pleased with the women today," said head coach
Matt Roe. "We have been making progress in training and it showed in the race today. We are starting to show a higher level of confidence and toughness, which is critical for teams as young as ours."
Following Thestrup was
Angelina Ellis with a time of 21:44.6, placing 31
st for the Bulldogs.
Camille Hines finished in the 52
nd spot, posting a time of 22:07.4
Hannah Hartzell (22:35.2, 90
th),
Kristen Johnson (23:41.2, 190
th), and
Allison Miller (23:46.8, 192
nd) also competed in the Butler group that ran in the 261-runner field.
Hanne Christensen of Western Michigan finished in 20:48.5, winning the women's unseeded race. Nevada, BYU, and Michigan took the top three positions in the team event.
The Bulldog men took on the 8k course and placed 14
th in the team standings out of 24 teams. The Bulldogs were paced by
Jonathan Collier, who finished 29
th with a time of 24:56.1.
"We had strong runs from Jon (Collier) and
Clark Otte," Roe said. "They positioned themselves for varsity spots and the opportunity to contribute to the top group moving forward."
Otte followed Collier, placing 36
th with a time of 25:02.1.
Blake Roberts was the third scorer for the Bulldogs, taking 105
th with a time of 25:55.7.
Eric Baugh followed, finishing the course in 26:08.0 and taking 119
th.
Malik Mahmud (26:27.1, 145
th) and
Jackson Martin (26:47.1, 160
th) completed the men's squad.
Emmanuel Rotich of Tulane won the men's race with a time of 23:47.1. Ohio State won the team event, followed by BYU and Oregon.
BYU won the seeded red race on the men's side, while Oregon won the women's seeded race.
The Bulldogs return to action Friday, Oct. 20 at the Illini Classic.
