LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Purdue cross country team raced to a pair of top-five team finishes at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday morning.
The Boilermaker men were third as a team, and first among Division-I programs, and the women finished fifth overall on an unseasonably warm morning at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. Junior Nathan Walker led the Purdue men with a seventh-place individual finish in the 8k Gold race, while senior Payne Turney paced the women in the 5k Gold event.
The men, who won their first two meets of the season, where third with 160 points. They finished behind a pair of D-2 powerhouses, Grand Valley State (104 points) and Adams State (105). The women earned 275 points as Grand Valley State (58 points) and Adams State (95) again took first and second. The gold events featured 39 men's teams and 36 women's programs.
"This was our toughest race so far, and the conditions were warmer than what we have been training in," Purdue head coach Norbert Elliott said. "The men had a solid performance again this week, and their consistency is good and very encouraging. I was happy to see Payne Turney and Emma Squires up there, our women are young but they're improving every meet."
Walker led Purdue on the 8k course to place seventh in 23:51.5. In a tightly-contested finish, he topped the eighth-place finisher by 0.4 seconds. Sophomore Douglas Buckeridge and senior Caleb Williams also notched top-25 finishes, as Buckeridge was 17th in 24:06.0 and Williams was 24th in 24:10.9.
Junior Jason Polydoris crossed the finish line in 51st place in 24:31.9, and sophomore Kiefer Bell was 61st in 24:38.0. Graduate student Nathaniel Getachew earned a time of 25:03.2 to place 105th by 0.3 seconds. The Boilermakers' final scorer was junior Brady Yoder, who was 168th in 25:27.4, just 0.1 seconds ahead of the next finisher and 0.3 seconds ahead of senior teammate Geno Christofanelli (170th, 25:27.7).
Turney ran a 5k time of 17:45.8 to place 37th overall, just ahead of junior teammate Emma Squires, who made her season debut and was 40th in 17:48.8. Senior Caroline Jordan finished 48th in 17:55.0, and sophomore Christel Elkins wasn't far behind in 51st with a mark of 17:57.7.
Freshman Paige Hazelrigg finished in 18:28.0 to place 109th, followed by fellow first-year Sofia Munoz, who was 120th in 18:31.8. Another freshman, Elise Peckinpaugh, was 128th in 18:33.5 to round out Purdue's scorers.
Additionally for the men in the 8k was grad student Ian Hunter (175th, 25:30.4) and freshmen Quintin Lowe (233rd, 25:54.9) and Jaryn Weinel (236th, 25:55.4).
Also running for Purdue in the women's 5k was junior Jaelyn Burgos (140th, 18:39.1), freshmen Kylie Graf (226th, 19:19.2) and Julia Economou (241st, 19:24.8) and sophomore Olivia Phillips (312th, 20:35.6).
Up next, the Boilermakers make an in-season visit to the site of the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships when they will race at the XC-23 Pre-Nationals in Charlottesville, Virginia, on October 14.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Boilermaker men were third as a team, and first among Division-I programs, and the women finished fifth overall on an unseasonably warm morning at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. Junior Nathan Walker led the Purdue men with a seventh-place individual finish in the 8k Gold race, while senior Payne Turney paced the women in the 5k Gold event.
The men, who won their first two meets of the season, where third with 160 points. They finished behind a pair of D-2 powerhouses, Grand Valley State (104 points) and Adams State (105). The women earned 275 points as Grand Valley State (58 points) and Adams State (95) again took first and second. The gold events featured 39 men's teams and 36 women's programs.
"This was our toughest race so far, and the conditions were warmer than what we have been training in," Purdue head coach Norbert Elliott said. "The men had a solid performance again this week, and their consistency is good and very encouraging. I was happy to see Payne Turney and Emma Squires up there, our women are young but they're improving every meet."
Walker led Purdue on the 8k course to place seventh in 23:51.5. In a tightly-contested finish, he topped the eighth-place finisher by 0.4 seconds. Sophomore Douglas Buckeridge and senior Caleb Williams also notched top-25 finishes, as Buckeridge was 17th in 24:06.0 and Williams was 24th in 24:10.9.
Junior Jason Polydoris crossed the finish line in 51st place in 24:31.9, and sophomore Kiefer Bell was 61st in 24:38.0. Graduate student Nathaniel Getachew earned a time of 25:03.2 to place 105th by 0.3 seconds. The Boilermakers' final scorer was junior Brady Yoder, who was 168th in 25:27.4, just 0.1 seconds ahead of the next finisher and 0.3 seconds ahead of senior teammate Geno Christofanelli (170th, 25:27.7).
Turney ran a 5k time of 17:45.8 to place 37th overall, just ahead of junior teammate Emma Squires, who made her season debut and was 40th in 17:48.8. Senior Caroline Jordan finished 48th in 17:55.0, and sophomore Christel Elkins wasn't far behind in 51st with a mark of 17:57.7.
Freshman Paige Hazelrigg finished in 18:28.0 to place 109th, followed by fellow first-year Sofia Munoz, who was 120th in 18:31.8. Another freshman, Elise Peckinpaugh, was 128th in 18:33.5 to round out Purdue's scorers.
Additionally for the men in the 8k was grad student Ian Hunter (175th, 25:30.4) and freshmen Quintin Lowe (233rd, 25:54.9) and Jaryn Weinel (236th, 25:55.4).
Also running for Purdue in the women's 5k was junior Jaelyn Burgos (140th, 18:39.1), freshmen Kylie Graf (226th, 19:19.2) and Julia Economou (241st, 19:24.8) and sophomore Olivia Phillips (312th, 20:35.6).
Up next, the Boilermakers make an in-season visit to the site of the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships when they will race at the XC-23 Pre-Nationals in Charlottesville, Virginia, on October 14.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/TrackField and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.