Women's Results | Men's Results
MADISON, Wis. - Matthew McClintock earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the third-straight year after Friday's Great Lakes Regionals. The Purdue men finished 13th, while the women took 10th in the race.
"We're definitely excited about Matt's performance," assistant coach Jeff Kent said. "It was a foot race from about the 8k mark to the finish. Matt was very pelased overall. We're excited about his progress and what he is set up to accomplish at the NCAA meet. I thought Tyler and David had breakthrough days as well. We have room for growth on the men's side, but the pieces are there for sure. What's really exciting about the women's side is that five of them enter the top 10 in program history for fastest 6ks. The women had a nice improvement from last season and continue to set themselves apart. I'm elated with their performance."
McClintock ran with the lead pack the entire race, battling with some of the country's best harriers, including Indiana State's John Mascari and Wisconsin's Malachy Schrobilgen, who won the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago. McClintock ran his first 2,000-meters in 6:19, which was the second-fastest opening 2k in the race. By the 4,000-meter mark, the lead pack started to distance itself from the rest of the field, and McClintock was neck-and-neck with six other runners who all turned in times of 12:32 to that point.
McClintock hung with Schrobilgen, Michigan State's Caleb Rhynard and Butler's Erik Peterson vying for second, as Mascari began to pull away. McClintock's 8k time was 24:43. Over the final 2,000-meters, Mascari finished his impressive race in 30:07, while Schrobilgen was just behind him in second with a time of 30:10. McClintock was able to outkick Rhynard and take third overall with a time of 30:17, which was less than a second better than the Spartan.
McClintock's time is the second-fastest among runners whose teams did not qualify, which earns him a bid to the NCAA Championships in two weeks in Terre Haute, Ind.
Tyler Wynn was Purdue's second finisher on Friday. Wynn ran his first 10k of the season in 31:30, which was good for 61st place. Freshman David Dalton was Purdue's third finisher. He wrapped up his rookie season with his first career 10k and a time of 31:44. He took 69th overall. Alex Milner and Caleb Kerr rounded out the scoring for the Purdue men. Milner ran a time of 32:24, good for 115th, while Kerr finished in 122nd with a time of 32:28.
The men's team finished with 370 points.
On the women's side, Hope Schmelzle was the top Boilermaker at the regional. Schmelzle ran a personal best with a time of 20:56. It was the first time that she has ever broken 21 minutes in a 6,000-meter race. She finished 33rd overall. Kiara McIntosh also had a career best on the day. The sophomore was second for Purdue and 41st overall with a time of 21:02.
"Hope came along well this season as a little bit of a late bloomer," added Kent. "She wasn't overly happy with her performance at Big Tens, and today she asserted herself right from the gun. She was just a few spots off of All-Region and helped to put us in a spot to be successful."
Kendall Hacker wrapped up her impressive freshman season. The rookie finished third for the Boilermakers with a career-best time of 21:04, bettering her time from the Big Ten Championships by six seconds. She finished 44th overall. Katie Hoevet also had a PR on the day. The junior ran a time of 21:15 to finish 51st. Sharise Lund rounded out the scoring with a 52nd-place finish. She crossed the line in 21:16, which was also a PR.
"As a whole, we're not satisfied with our overall men's team finish, but we had some solid individual efforts today," said Kent. "We look forward to eight days from now when Matt runs at NCAAs. I think he put himself in a good spot heading into that race."
The women finished with 10th 221 points, just 26 points out of sixth place.
The men's and women's seasons are wrapped up, aside from McClintock. He will compete in the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 22, and look to defend his All-America honors from last season.