Women's Results (PDF)  |  Men's Results (PDF)

A dominating individual performance and a strong team result led Butler to a pair of wins at the Butler Twilight Friday evening in Carmel, Ind.

In the women's race, sophomore Josephine Thestrup moved to the front of the field within 50 yards of the start line and led wire-to-wire, besting the 41-runner field by 50 seconds over the 5k course. Ball State's Cayla Eckenroth finished second with a time of 18:27.3.

Thestrup ran a time of 17:36.5 in winning the event for the second consecutive season.

"Last year at this time, her longest run ever was nine months; this year, she ran nine miles the day before a race," said Butler coach Matt Roe. "That's a huge shift in her training and that means that her ceiling is higher."

Her individual performance highlighted a team win for the Bulldogs. A pair of freshmen were next across the line for the home team as Camille Hines (18:47.5) and Angelina Ellis (18:48.6) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

"This race is really about the young athletes more than anything else," said Roe. "Freshman gain the first opportunity to compete and wear the uniform. For the older athletes, it's about trying to execute a plan, run controlled, and run at a high level without much pressure."

Kristen Johnson finished 12^th in a time of 19:09.9, followed closely by Grace Butkus (19:12) and Clare McCabe (19:18) in the 14^th and 15^th positions. The first five runners contributed to a team score of 40, which topped IUPUI's score of 51. Ball State (55) and the University of Indianapolis (86) rounded out the four-team field.

Other Butler women crossing the line Friday included Allison Miller (19:27.4; 17^th), Kara Stark (19:58.7; 26^th), Julia Adams (20:07.1), and Emma Bailey (20:29.9; 35^th).
While Thestrup ran away from the women's field individually, Butler's men ran away from the competition as a group.

Less than 1,000 meters into the race, five Bulldogs had broken away from the pack. Three of those runners would keep the lead throughout the race and finish within three-tenths of one another. At the line, Bobby Johnson earned the win with a time of 18:31.5; Matt Lumbar and Jonathan Collier were stride for stride with him.

Johnny Leverenz was the fourth Bulldog across the line, posting a time of 18:42.4. He was fifth overall in the race, just behind Brooks Long, who ran unattached for IUPUI (18:39.7). Eric Baugh was the final scoring Butler runner with a time of 18:45.1. He was seventh overall.

"We really should have probably finished five together," said Roe. "I think a few of our guys got out a little bit hard; inevitably that might happen because of excitement. But they are definitely fit. That's good. They haven't backed off. They ran 10 miles yesterday. So, seeing how they ran on tired legs, how hard they got out, and how they looked…I'm encouraged by that."

Because Long ran unattached, the Bulldogs' team score was 16. Butler easily defeated the field of IUPUI (52), Cincinnati (89), Wabash (97), and the University of Indianapolis (112).

Five other Bulldogs competed in the race, with four of them wearing the Butler uniform for the first time. Jackson Martin finished 16^th in a time of 19:08, followed by Blake Roberts (19:28.2; 20^th), Kyle Harris (19:51.4; 29^th), Malik Mahmud (20:05.3; 35^th), and Chandler McGaha (20:12.8; 43^rd).

Roe held out several members of the men's squad as the team continues an intense training schedule.

The Bulldogs return to action Sept. 9 at the John McNichols Invitational, hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind.