Lea Wins Men’s 8K at John McNichols Invitational

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Evansville junior Samuel Lea (Worcester, United Kingdom/Worcester Sixth Form College) won the men’s 8K in dramatic fashion at the John McNichols Invitational on Friday morning, helping his team to a fourth place finish. On the women’s side, the Aces finished fifth, led by sophomore Chase Hayes (Noblesville, Ind./Western), who finished 15th.

Lea won the men’s race with a time of 24:47.35, edging out Miami (Ohio)’s Chis Perkins by one second to take the title. The time marks a personal best for Lea and ties Nick Waniger (2006) for the ninth-best 8K time in program history. Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia, Spain/Colegio Claret) placed 24th with a time of 26:00.24, while Woody Burrell (Cedarburg, Wis. Cedarburg) finished closely behind in 28th place at 26:06.43. Tommaso Losma (Lombardia, Italy/Liceo Scientifico David Maria Turoldo, Zogno (Bg)) and Nathan Whitehead Vincennes, Ind./Vincennes) also finished inside the top 50 to help UE finish fourth in the 13-team field.

On the women’s side, Hayes paced the Aces for the third time this season, tying Nicole Prauchner (2023) for the 14th-best 6K time in program history and setting a new personal best at 22:29.93. Avery Stephens (Newburgh, Ind/Castle) was the next UE finisher, posting a time of 23:14.48 to place 27th. Freshman Kyleigh Wolf (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) finished 33rd with a time of 23:33.07, while Evansville finished fifth in the 11-team field.

The Aces cross country teams return to the course next Friday for the Gans Creek Classic, hosted by Missouri in Colombia, Mo.