Members of the Men's Cross Country team warm-up on the outdoor track prior to a long run in the nature park.
REBECA BAGDOCIMO / THE DEPAUW
The men’s and women’s teams posted solid times and finishes this past Saturday in what would be their first appearance in the Greater Louisville Invitational.
“The fields were just huge," said head coach Kori Stoffregen. "There were over 300 people [over] six different races. I think the team enjoyed going to this meet and doing something a little bit different.”
Heading into the weekend, the women’s team was without two of their top runners in senior Heather O’Brien and junior Lois Miller, who are currently dealing with injuries. The program placed 22 out of 33 teams in the 5k, and was only 61 points behind the top Division III program, Rhodes College.
The team was led by junior Claudia Monnett, who placed 45 overall with a 18:48:60. Monnett was followed by junior Emma MacAnally (112, 19:29:45), first-year Megan Ozog (122, 19:34:72) and junior Becca Conley (175, 20:13:38).
Despite working around O’Brien and Miller’s absences, the results still didn’t measure up to what the team had been expecting.
“The course was really flat and overall should have been a very fast meet, but we struggled a bit with the cold and the mud,” said Monnett. "This meet we were looking for an amazing race, so we left disappointed.”
The men’s team found more success, placing 15 out of 36 teams in their 8k race. The Tigers' top three runners all finished within 20 seconds of each other, as sophomore Polo Burguete (26:00:28) and first-years Paul Christian (26:01:99) and Zach Batt (26:18:26) came in 53, 58 and 79, respectively.
Senior Paul Watts placed 99 with a 26:32:22, and was followed by senior Brian Mincks (154, 27:03.65), sophomore Kevin Kenney (186, 27:29:22) and junior Brad Wise (189th, 27:31:71).
“We competed with teams we haven’t competed with yet. Everybody’s moving up, everybody’s looking ahead,” said Watts. “We got to see a lot of DI teams race, a lot of good DI teams.”
Other teams competing included Wabash, Indianapolis, Grand Valley State and Hope.
The two teams’ next meet will come on Oct. 17, when the Tigers travel to Oberlin, Ohio for the Inter-Regional Rumble.