Aces run solid times in meetÂ
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The University of Evansville cross country teams participated in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Saturday morning in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
“Overall, I am proud of the way both of our teams ran today,†UE head coach Don Walters said. “The course was fantastic and had a few hills in it that slowed the times down a bit from the last time we were here, but we still came away with some good races. Our women were just 13 points behind Drake, which is a big step for us. The men also improved their standing over last season.â€
Hannah Welsh ran one of her best races of the year for the women. The freshman ran the 5K in 18:35.2. She took 26th place out of the 80 runners. Welsh’s finish was the best for a UE female since Kelby Jenkins finished 8th as a senior in 2013. Welsh finished ahead of Sienna Crews, who took 35th. Crews finished the race in a time of 18:54.6.
Michelle Karp was UE’s #3 runner. The junior completed the race in 20:03.1. For Karp, it was her second-fastest time of the season. Ashton Bosler was next up. She checked in with a 20:17.4. Kylie Hasenour was fifth for UE, running her first MVC Championship in 21:21.9. Anna Loef registered a time of 21:26.3. A consistent season has seen Loef run five out of six races in 21:34 or faster.
Katie Beaber and Hayley Elliott were the final two runners for the Aces. Beaber notched a 21:52.3. It was the third time this season that Beaber finished the 5K in under 22 minutes. Elliott’s time finished at 23:10.4.
UNI took the top spot in the women’s team rankings. The Panthers finished with a score of 52, defeating Bradley by 12. Evansville came home in 10th. Rebekah Topham of the Shockers took top honors with a 17:24.8. She defeated Illinois State’s Ariel Michalek, who ran a 17:33.6.
Ricky Hendrix was the top runner for the men, running the 8K in 27:45.5. He came home in 56th out of the 69 runners. Senior Ben Woolems was second on the squad. He ran what was by far his best time of the season, circling the course in 28:48.0. It was nearly three minutes faster than any other 8K race of the year.
Taking third on the team was Andrew Barrett. A 28:56.5 was his third-best 8K race of the season. Next was senior Ross Frondorf, who finished the race in 29:01.7. Rounding out the Aces’ top five was Tucker Dawson. The freshman ran a time of 29:16.2. Stanley Chepchieng, Paul Schwartz and Aaron Cochran completed the UE contingent. Chepchieng ran a 29:32.3 while Schwartz finished with a 29:56.9. Cochran’s checked in at 31:30.0.
Bradley took the men’s championship with a final score of 24 points. The Braves had four of the top six finishers in the race. Wichita State was second with 82 while Indiana State finished third (84). The Aces took 10th place. Reed Fischer of Drake was the top finisher in the race, running a 24:31.8 to win by just under seven seconds.
