LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Led by sophomore Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio), the No. 15 University of Southern Indiana women’s cross country team finished 20th out of 30 teams at the Greater Louisville Classic Saturday morning.
Roberts finished 40th out of 260 runners and was fourth in a field of Division II runners that included competitors from NCAA II No. 1 Hillsdale College, No. 3 Grand Valley State University, No. 10 Bellarmine University, and No. 18 Edinboro University. She crossed the finish line with a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 35.68 seconds, less than 30 seconds behind Hillsdale’s Emily Oren, who was fifth with a time of 17:07.03 and is one of the favorites to win the national championship this season.
The Screaming Eagles, who finished with 534 points, were third amongst NCAA II opponents. Hillsdale finished ninth to lead the Division II field, while Grand Valley State was 12th. Edinboro and Bellarmine were 25th and 26th, respectively, while the University of Indianapolis was 27th.
Senior Jessica Reeves (Midland, Michigan) finished 94th with a time of 18:05.38 to aid the Eagles, while fellow classmate Jamie Adkins(Owensboro, Kentucky) was 142nd. Sophomore Jessica Lincoln (Palatine, Illinois) finished 168th, while freshman Hope Jones (Cumberland, Indiana) was 183rd to round out USI’s top five.
The Eagles’ top seven was rounded out by sophomore Bryce Cutler (Benzonia, Michigan) and junior Carly Whitesell (Zionsville, Indiana). Cutler was 208th, while Whitesell was 223rd.
Junior Cathryn Peter (Tell City, Indiana) led the Eagles’ in the Blue Race with a 60th-place finish in a field of 284 runners. USI finished 23rdout of 33 teams in the Blue Race.
The Eagles return to action October 17 when they compete at the University of Evansville Invitational at Angel Mounds. It will be USI’s last chance to run at Angel Mounds prior to the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships November 7 and its last meet before the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships October 24 in Somers, Wisconsin.
