Final Results
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The men's and women's cross country teams had another successful race weekend. The men's team finished fifth and the women sixth, out of 20 and 21 teams, respectively, at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.
"We had a terrific day on the men's and women's side," assistant coach Jeff Kent said. "Having two women under 17 minutes was an incredible accomplishment for Katie (Hoevet) and Hope (Schmelzle). As we continue to build the depth of the program, our third, fourth and fifth runners will continue to close the gap with increased confidence from their racing and training. The men had nine guys under 25 minutes. I thought our spread from our second to fifth guys was huge as well, especially when you have Matt (McClintock) with the big stick finishing second. Overall, I'm really pleased with the efforts of the men and women today."
Matthew McClintock finished runner-up for the second week in a row. The reigning Big Ten Athlete of the Week finished the 5-mile race with a time of 23:49.5. His time was just 0.4 of a second behind the champion, Anthony Rotich of UTEP, a team receiving votes in the polls. McClintock hung with Rotich the entire race, before Rotich was able to edge him at the line. McClintock did narrowly stay ahead of Jonah Koech of UTEP. Koech and McClintock's times were the same to the tenth of a second, though McClintock was credited with a second place finish and Koech third.
"I think what's exciting about the men is that we're still in a very heavy mode of strength training," Kent said. "We haven't backed off much yet and we won't for a few more weeks. Matt has been able to carry over the fitness gains he made from spring in the track season. He will keep getting faster and increase his speed and aerobic capacity throughout the season. It is really exciting to watch."
Tate Schienbein was Purdue's second runner for the second straight week. He finished 23rd with a time of 24:19.1. That time was just more than five seconds off his time from the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown last week in the 8,000-meter run. Caleb Kerr was third for the Boilermakers with a time of 24:31.4, 3.5 seconds off his time a week ago. Matthew Grider and Alex Milner rounded out the scoring with 52nd and 53rd place finishes, respectively. Grider finished in 24:43.9, while Milner crossed the line in 24:44.4.
The men's team finished fifth with 169 points. All four teams that finished ahead of Purdue are ranked, or in UTEP's case, receiving votes. UTEP won with 89 points, while North Carolina State was second with 97. Colorado State was third with 126 and Southern Utah was fourth with 134. The Boilermakers finished ahead of Eastern Michigan, who is receiving votes and No. 17 New Mexico.
The men's team finished 18 spots higher than it did a year ago. The Boilermakers were 23rd at the meet last season.
On the women's side, Hope Schmelzle was the top Purdue runner for the third meet in a row. She finished with a time of 16:54.0, good for 14th place in the 5,000-meter race. Katie Hoevet was just behind her with a 16th place finish and time of 16:55.6. It's the first time two Boilermakers have finished under 17 minutes in the 5k race. Sharise Lund was third for Purdue and finished 44th with a time of 17:21.5.
"Hope had a breakthrough season in the spring in the steeplechase for track," Kent said. "She has done a remarkable job of carrying that over and, overall, when I look at the women's team, I am very impressed with their competitive style and where they are as a team right now. We had numerous people today who had lifetime bests. What is so special is the comradery, the sisterhood and brotherhood of both teams. It's as high as any team I've been around and I think that clearly has helped us and gives us strength in numbers to make us better the rest of the season."
Kendall Hacker was fourth for the women. She finished 53rd with a time of 17:26.5. Kiara McIntosh rounded out the scoring with a 77th place finish with a time of 17:43.0.
The women's team finished sixth with 201 points. No. 1 New Mexico won with 29 points, while No. 14 North Carolina State was second with 74 points. No. 20 Notre Dame was third with 143 points, No. 22 Vanderbilt was fourth with 150 and Utah was fifth with 164 points.
The women's team finished 11 spots higher than it did a year ago at the same meet.
The Boilermakers are off for two weeks before they return to action at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet in Louisville.