The Purple Aces made their 2023 cross-country debut at home in a shorter course at Angel Mounds
EVANSVILLE, Ind. –Â In their first meet as Purple Aces, three University of Evansville cross-country runners placed in the Top Five at the Stegemoller Classic in Evansville, Indiana on Friday night.
Freshman runners Sonja Inzinger (Mautern an der Donau, Austria), Nayla Martin (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada), and Kalina Urbaniak (Suchy Las, Poland) finished third, fourth, and fifth in the women’s 4K at the Stegemoller Classic. With three Top Five finishes, the Evansville women’s team placed second out of three participating teams, while the UE men placed third out of four teams.
“I was pleased with the way both teams raced today,” said UE Director of Cross Country/Track & Field Brooks LeCompte. “Most of our rosters are freshman and many are still adjusting to living in this area and being in college with their teammates. A more low-key meet like today was the perfect way to start our season.
“I’m proud of how our women pushed the pace early in the 4K and wanted the most out of themselves despite the hot conditions. I was extremely pleased to see our teams get out there and show others what we are building at UE. Today’s meet was a good step in the right direction for everyone!”
Evansville’s runners at the Stegemoller Classic ran a slightly shorter course than usual at Angel Mounds, with the women running a 4K and the men running a 6K. Inzinger paced the pack among all Ace runners, finishing the women’s 4K in 14:35 in her first collegiate meet. While Inzinger led the women, newcomer Samuel Lea (Worcester, United Kingdom) was UE’s fastest male runner, finishing the 6K in 19:26. Evansville’s only returning runner in Friday’s meet, junior Adam Oulgout (St. Paul, Minn) finished 12th among all runners and just behind Lea with a time of 19:64.
Rounding out the rest of the women’s side was Martin with the fourth fastest time of the day at 14:34, Urbaniak at fifth with a time of 14:41, freshman Kyndall Anthis in 11th with a time of 15:44, and graduate runner Sarah Vanderhoof-Dossett in 12th with a time of 16:08. On the men’s side after Lea and Oulgout, the Aces had freshman Raphael Rodriguez place 13th with a time of 19:37, freshman Owen Cuplin in 18th with a time of 20:35, and freshman Tommaso Losma in 20th with a time of 20:57.
Evansville will have two weeks off before its next meet on Sept. 15 in the annual John McNichols Invitational hosted by Indiana State. The meet on Saturday the 15th will begin with the men’s 8K at 8 a.m. and the women’s 6K at 8:45 a.m.Â
