Oct. 15, 2005
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Boilermaker men began slower than had been hoped and were unable to make up ground, finishing 29th of 33 teams competing in the blue race at the 2005 Pre-Nationals at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
The men's 8K field was divided into two races, the blue and the white, each with approximately 33 squads.
In a field filled with ranked teams and 2004 national qualifiers, the Boilermakers were hoping for a solid performance, leading up to the Big Ten Championships in two weeks. That performance did not happen on Saturday.
David Rae was the top Purdue finisher, running a strong 24:45.8 for a 66th-place finish. Rae was expected to be the frontrunner for the Boilermaker squad, and the senior lived up to race expectations.
The Boilermaker team finished with 676 points. The team champion in the blue race was Stanford, which scored 89 points. Brigham Young (174), Georgetown (222), Kansas (231) and Dartmouth (237) rounded out the top five.
On the individual side, Josh Rohatinsky of Brigham Young set a course record with a time of 23:30.7 to finish first. That course record would fall in the white race to Liberty's Josh McDougal and a time of 23:12.6.
With five runners scoring for the team finish, Purdue coaches had hoped for the next four after Rae to complete the 8K course in times under 25:30. Only two runners met that challenge.
Justin Stadt's time of 25:18.4 was good for 130th, and Zach Wilder placed 136th with s showing of 25:23.7.
Finishing behind the goal of 25:30 were Michial Jacob and Eric Hammond, who finished 165th and 179th. Jacob ran the 8K course in 25:45.1, while Hammond faded in the final 1,000m for a time of 26:00.2.
Not scoring for the Boilermakers were Justin Gauthier, who finished 184th with a 26:05.4, and Jimmy Keown, who placed in 210th with a time of 27:12.5.
The Boilermakers return to competition on Oct. 30, in Minneapolis for the 2005 Big Ten Championships.