Oct. 31, 2010
MADISON, Wis. - The Purdue men's and women's cross country teams turned in respective 10th- and 11th-place finishes at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, hosted by the University of Wisconsin at Thomas Zimmer Championship Course. The Boilermaker women finished with 261 points, while the Purdue men totaled 212 points.
Purdue senior Caden Shields led the men's effort, taking 24th individually with a season-best 8K time of 24:18.5, good for the third-fastest 8K by a Boilermaker this year. Junior co-captain Cale Allen followed Shields in 28th place, crossing the line just shy of his career best at 24:30.0, while junior Charles White finished 44th in 24:47.6. Sophomore Stephen Schulz and freshman Scott Vicenzi wrapped up the Purdue point total in 50th and 66th scoring positions with respective times of 24:57.8 and 25:40.5.
On the women's side, sophomore co-captain Camille Buscomb paced the squad with a 21st-place individual effort, finishing just shy of her school-record 6K mark with a time of 20:52.8. The time is the second fastest in school history and her fourth mark on the Boilermakers' all-time top-10 for 6K. Junior Stephanie Bonk and sophomore Kelly McCurdy registered the No. 49 and 52 scoring spots, running times of 21:34.7 and 21:39.3, while senior Jennifer Hall was 68th in 22:14.8 and junior co-captain Kara Conflenti was 71st in 22:20.1. McCurdy's time is a new career best for 6K, while Bonk was within 12 seconds of her personal record.
Wisconsin took home both the men's team and individual titles as senior Landon Peacock posted a time of 23:40.8 to lead the Badgers to a team score of 28 points as they had four of the first six runners across the finish line. Michigan State matched the feat on the women's side, led by senior Emily MacLeod's first-place time of 19:53.8 en route to a team score of 74 points.
The Boilermakers look to rebound at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 13, at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich.