Sept. 11, 2004
Women's Results | Men's Results
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Despite a vast difference in roster types, the Purdue men's and women's cross country teams each finished in fourth place at the Indiana State Invitational on Saturday morning, giving the teams experience on the host course of the 2004 NCAA Championships.
Run at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, the women's race was a 5k event while the men ran an 8k circuit. The course will be the site of the Pre-Nationals Meet on Oct. 16 and the NCAA Championships on Nov. 22.
Amber Ferner was the top female finisher for the Boilermakers, leading an experienced Purdue group to a fourth-place finish with 104 points. Michigan was the top team with 34 points, followed by Arkansas (50), West Virginia (70) and Purdue. Other NCAA Division-I teams in the race were DePaul (5th, 149), Indiana State (t-6th, 174), Southeast Missouri (t-6th, 174), Butler (8th, 200) and St. Louis (9th, 282).
Ferner, a senior from West Lafayette, placed eighth with a time of 18:07.33 and was one of seven Purdue juniors and seniors to participate in the race. Senior Kara Lahey (Lockport, Ill.) finished 12th at 18:27.82 and a trio of Boilermakers crossed the line within six seconds of each other as junior Corrie Whisner (18:59.88; West Chester, Ohio), sophomore Rachel Kroll (19:01.21; South Bend, Ind.) and junior Lindsay Zinn (19:05.36; West Chester, Ohio) finished 32nd, 33rd and 34th respectively.
For the men, it was a story of youth as freshmen claimed the top four runs for the Boilermakers, led by Zach Wilder (Versailles, Ky.) with a time of 26:35.29 on the 8k course, placing 23rd and helping the team to a fourth-place showing with 126 points.
Eastern Michigan's men claimed the team title with 23 points, followed by Navy (40) in second, Indiana State (84) in third and Purdue. The final four teams, in order of finish, were DePaul (164), Butler (172), Southeast Missouri (176) and St. Louis (213).
Kirk Baleskie (Naperville, Ill.) finished 25th with a time of 26:43.34, followed by Justin Stadt (Crown Point, Ind.) in 30th at 27:03.39. The final two scoring runners for the Boilermaker men were freshman Justin Gauthier (Yorktown, Ind.) with a 33rd-place time of 27:10.30 and senior Nick Bruckbauer (Waukesha, Wis.), who finished 36th with a time of 27:19.01.
The Boilermakers return home to run at the Purdue Varsity Cross Country Course on Friday, Sept. 17, when Purdue hosts the 2004 Indiana Intercollegiates. The women's 5k event is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. while the men's 8k race will begin at 5:15 p.m.