MADISON, Wis. – With an inch of snow on the ground and temperatures hovering around 30 degrees, the No. 22 nationally ranked Purdue men's cross country team concluded its 2018 season with a 29th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
In the Boilermakers' first NCAA appearance since 1986, two runners placed among the top 119 in a field of 255 individuals. Brody Smith produced Purdue's top mark for the first time in his Boilermaker career with a 108th-place finish and a time of 30:42.1. Smith, who placed 222nd at the 2k split, jumped to 155th, then on to 140th, 126th and finally 108th by the time he crossed the finish line.
The 2018 Great Lakes Region Men's Athlete of the Year and Regionals Champion Jaret Carpenter finished seconds behind Smith with a time of 30:49.2 and 119th-place. Carpenter checked-in as high as 115th at the 4.1k and 6k split, moving up 44 spots from his first check-in.
Bailey McIntire collected the third-best time on the team at 31:42.7 and 201st-place. Following McIntire's heels was Curt Eckstein in 203rd-place. Eckstein timed in at 31:45.9, while Kyle Griffith registered 226th-place with a time of 32:19.8. Rounding out the Boilermakers was senior Jake Hanawalt in 230th with a time of 32:32.5 and Tyler Bowling, clocking in at 33:00.9 for 244th-place.
At the 2k split, Purdue was positioned in last place with a score of 891, put was able to claw its way up the standings by the 4.1k mark, where they held steady in 29th-place.
In the Boilermakers' first NCAA appearance since 1986, two runners placed among the top 119 in a field of 255 individuals. Brody Smith produced Purdue's top mark for the first time in his Boilermaker career with a 108th-place finish and a time of 30:42.1. Smith, who placed 222nd at the 2k split, jumped to 155th, then on to 140th, 126th and finally 108th by the time he crossed the finish line.
The 2018 Great Lakes Region Men's Athlete of the Year and Regionals Champion Jaret Carpenter finished seconds behind Smith with a time of 30:49.2 and 119th-place. Carpenter checked-in as high as 115th at the 4.1k and 6k split, moving up 44 spots from his first check-in.
Bailey McIntire collected the third-best time on the team at 31:42.7 and 201st-place. Following McIntire's heels was Curt Eckstein in 203rd-place. Eckstein timed in at 31:45.9, while Kyle Griffith registered 226th-place with a time of 32:19.8. Rounding out the Boilermakers was senior Jake Hanawalt in 230th with a time of 32:32.5 and Tyler Bowling, clocking in at 33:00.9 for 244th-place.
At the 2k split, Purdue was positioned in last place with a score of 891, put was able to claw its way up the standings by the 4.1k mark, where they held steady in 29th-place.