TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Cross Country teams were eager to get back on the course Saturday morning, competing for the first time in over three weeks at the 2024 John McNichols Invitational at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute.
The Trailblazers were part of a very large field of four-year schools, being one of only two two-year programs to compete in the event.
“The team was looking forward to getting back to racing after three weeks off of competition,” VU Head Cross Country Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “This was the first 8k for a lot of the men and 6k for the women.”
“It was an extremely foggy and humid morning with huge field sizes,” Steigenga added. “A lot of NCAA Division III teams were there to preview the course before their National meet. There were about twice the amount of teams from last year, with over 30 teams for each gender and 466 finishers for the men and 378 for the women.”
The morning began under foggy conditions for the Men’s 8k race, giving many of the VU runners their first look competing in an 8k race.
The VU Men’s team was led by freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) who finished in 49th place overall with a very good time of 25:29.
Freshman Ibrahim Sakka (Kairouan, Tunisia) was the next VU runner across the line, finishing with a time of 25:55 to take 88th place overall.
Sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) and freshman Kelvin Kipsang (Kapsabet, Kenya) were the next Vincennes finishers, with Noel crossing the line at 26:34 and Kipsang finishing with a time of 26:59.
Sophomore Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) rounded out the top five Vincennes finishers, ending with a time of 27:23.
Sophomore Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) led a big group of Trailblazer runners down the stretch, finishing with a time of 28:02.
Freshman Lane Connaway (Carmi, Ill.) and sophomore Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) finished neck and neck with Connaway besting his VU teammate by two seconds with a time of 28:49 to Whitehead’s time of 28:51.
Freshman Rylan Mullins (Greenwood, Ind.), sophomore Bryaun Manuel (East St. Louis, Ill.) and freshman Stephen Hershberger (Fowler, Ind.) were in the next group of VU finishers, with Mullins posting a time of 29:10, with Manuel ending at 29:24 and Hershberger crossing at 29:53.
Freshmen Dakoda Greci (Danville, Ind.), Hayden Kler (Hillsboro, Ind.) and Tucker Henson (Louisville, Ky.) rounded out the Trailblazer Men’s team finishers, with Greci ending with a time of 30:02, while Kler finished at 30:58 and Henson setting a time of 31:26.
The VU Men’s Team finished with a total of 496 points in the event and placed 18th in the non-Division I race.
“Anis and Brahym did great leading the way with new 8k PRs, both under 26,” Steigenga said. “Cody picked up right where he left off last season, just off his PR. Kelvin finished his first race and just snuck under the 27 minute mark for the 8k. He and Caden both ran very even races, with Caden running a 13 second PR of 27:23.”
“Tanner ran 28:02, just off his time from the course last year and Lane and Nathan finished together about 50 seconds behind Tanner,” Steigenga added. “It was awesome to see the guys race so well and put together a solid team finish. We have one of the deepest teams we’ve ever had, so we still have a lot of guys that could come through for us in the next few weeks that might not have had their best day today.”
The VU women’s team then looked to pick up where the men left off as Vincennes was led by freshman Sarra Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) who posted a time of 24:55 in the 6k race.
Sophomore Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) was the second Trailblazer finisher, coming in just ahead of teammate freshman Allie Black (Lynn, Ind.) with Fuller ending with a time of 26:00 and Black crossing the line at 26:01.
Sophomore Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) closed out the morning for the Trailblazers in Terre Haute, crossing the line with a time of 29:51.
“On the women’s side, we were planning on racing a full team to be able to score but one of the girls got sick a few days before the meet,” Steigenga said. “Sarra led the way in her first 6k and made her debut for VU as well. Adi and Allie worked well together over the race and didn’t leave each other’s side until the end, finishing just one second apart. Jasmine ran well after only running for a few weeks.”
The Trailblazers will look to continue to improve as they shift focus now to their next race, the 2024 Live in Lou Classic hosted at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday, Oct. 5.
“Overall it was a good race and very encouraging for a lot of them to get another race on the board after a rough first race,” Steigenga said. “It will be exciting to see how far we move up in the next XC rankings as we didn’t have anything other than the first race to base off of in the first poll. In two weeks we’ll head to Louisville for another big field, competitive race and hopefully some more fast times.”
