Race to be held on Friday in Bloomington
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Two weeks after opening the season with a successful outing at the Eastern Illinois University Walt Crawford Open, the University of Evansville cross country teams are back on the course on Friday at the Indiana Intercollegiate.
A total of 21 teams will be competing including Division I foes Ball State, Indiana, Indiana State, IUPUI and Purdue. The women’s open 5k race will begin at 3:00PM followed by the men’s open 8k at 3:30PM. The women’s championship 5k will begin at 4:40PM and the meet will be concluded with the men’s 8k championship at 5:15PM
Hannah Welsh and Ricky Hendrix were the top performers as the University of Evansville cross country teams opened up the 2016 season two weeks ago at EIU. Welsh led the way for the ladies, finishing the 5K course in a time of 18:48.14 to take 10th place overall out of 69 runners. She was 9th among Division I runners in her debut for the Purple Aces. Her effort was also the second-best 5K time for the squad since the beginning of last season.
Five spots behind her in the final running order was Sienna Crews. The sophomore circled the course in a time of 19:14.53. She came home in 13th among D-I racers and 22nd on the final leaderboard. Third on the squad was Ashton Bosler. Her time of 20:24.53 put her 22nd in the D-I order.
Hendrix burst onto the scene for the men, finishing his 8K effort in a time of 27:15.79. His debut time was the quickest for a UE runner since Josh Genet posted a 26:29.25 in the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. He came home in 12th place.
Just behind him was another newcomer – Stanley Chepchieng. His 28:35.05 saw him earn a 20th place finish on the Division I leaderboard. Third for the men was Paul Schwartz. The senior set a PR with his 28:35.16. It bested his previous top time of 29:04.2, which was set in last year’s UE Invitational at Angel Mounds.
