CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Purdue cross country team finished the 2023 regular season at the highly-competitive XC-23 Pre-Nationals in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday morning.
Against a nationally-ranked field at Virginia's Panorama Farms, the Boilermaker men were fifth as a team and the women were 23rd. Both squads were selected to race in the blue championship events on Saturday. The competition was hosted at the site of the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships, set to be run next month.
Sophomore Douglas Buckeridge paced the men with a 25th-place finish, just ahead of junior Nathan Walker, who was 28th on the 8k course. Senior Payne Turney led the women in the 6k race.
"Our men and women had their toughest meet yet," Purdue head coach Norbert Elliot said. "It was a solid showing for the men who closed very well in the final 3k to move from 14th place up the fifth. I also am happy that they are all healthy as we prepare for Big Tens in a couple weeks. Our young women's team was paced by Payne Turney followed by Christel Elkins. They are making steady progress and got a chance to measure themselves with some of best in the nation.
"I am super proud of the effort on both sides. Groups ran tough in tough conditions. After one of the best regular seasons in school history, the men showed that they are right there competing with the top teams in the country, and the women continue to grow and push their limits each time out. I am looking forward to the postseason for both groups."
The Purdue men finished with 215 points. No. 21 Arkansas was victorious with 35 points, followed by No. 17 Tennessee (89), No. 10 Virginia (112) and Montana State (137), who is receiving votes in the latest polls. The women had 538 points. No. 6 BYU won the team title with 32 points, ahead of No. 19 Arkansas (90), No. 7 Virginia (104) and No. 17 Oregon (117). Another three women's teams were receiving votes in the national rankings.
Buckeridge crossed the finish line in 23:49.9 to secure the 25th-place finish by more than two seconds. Walker was close behind in 28th place with a mark of 23:48.6 in the 8k race. In a tight finish, Walker was the second of four runners to finish within 0.8 seconds of each other.
Senior Caleb Williams was 43rd overall in 24:03.6 in another close race that saw six runners finish in a 1.1-second span. Sophomore Kiefer Bell was 62nd in 24:17.1 and junior Jason Polydoris was 65th with a mark of 24:18.1 to round out Purdue's scorers.
Turney recorded a 6k time of 21:23.8 to place 83rd overall. She was the second of three finishers within 0.9 seconds. Three Boilermakers notched back-to-back-to-back finishes, led by sophomore Christel Elkins, who was 104th in 21:35.2. Senior Caroline Jordan was right behind her in 105th in 21:35.6, followed by junior Emma Squires who was 106th in 21:36.5. The trio just bested the next-closest finisher, who was 0.1 seconds behind Squires.
Freshman Paige Hazelrigg was 172nd in 22:26.2 to complete Purdue's scoring finishes.
Additional finishers for the men were senior Alex Frey (114th, 24:43.6), junior Brady Yoder (125th, 24:50.2), senior Geno Christofanelli (135th, 24:56.8) and graduate student Nathaniel Getachew (152nd, 25:13.4). For the women, it was freshman Sofia Munoz (173rd, 22:27.5), junior Jaelyn Burgos (174th, 22:28.1), freshman Ally Wigand (178th, 22:31.3) and freshman Elise Peckinpaugh (191st, 23:08.4).
Up next, the Boilermakers are on to the 2023 Big Ten Cross Country Champioships on October 27 in Madison, Wisconsin. The first of three postseason meets in the cross country season is set to commence at 11:45 a.m. ET.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/CrossCountry and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Against a nationally-ranked field at Virginia's Panorama Farms, the Boilermaker men were fifth as a team and the women were 23rd. Both squads were selected to race in the blue championship events on Saturday. The competition was hosted at the site of the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships, set to be run next month.
Sophomore Douglas Buckeridge paced the men with a 25th-place finish, just ahead of junior Nathan Walker, who was 28th on the 8k course. Senior Payne Turney led the women in the 6k race.
"Our men and women had their toughest meet yet," Purdue head coach Norbert Elliot said. "It was a solid showing for the men who closed very well in the final 3k to move from 14th place up the fifth. I also am happy that they are all healthy as we prepare for Big Tens in a couple weeks. Our young women's team was paced by Payne Turney followed by Christel Elkins. They are making steady progress and got a chance to measure themselves with some of best in the nation.
"I am super proud of the effort on both sides. Groups ran tough in tough conditions. After one of the best regular seasons in school history, the men showed that they are right there competing with the top teams in the country, and the women continue to grow and push their limits each time out. I am looking forward to the postseason for both groups."
The Purdue men finished with 215 points. No. 21 Arkansas was victorious with 35 points, followed by No. 17 Tennessee (89), No. 10 Virginia (112) and Montana State (137), who is receiving votes in the latest polls. The women had 538 points. No. 6 BYU won the team title with 32 points, ahead of No. 19 Arkansas (90), No. 7 Virginia (104) and No. 17 Oregon (117). Another three women's teams were receiving votes in the national rankings.
Buckeridge crossed the finish line in 23:49.9 to secure the 25th-place finish by more than two seconds. Walker was close behind in 28th place with a mark of 23:48.6 in the 8k race. In a tight finish, Walker was the second of four runners to finish within 0.8 seconds of each other.
Senior Caleb Williams was 43rd overall in 24:03.6 in another close race that saw six runners finish in a 1.1-second span. Sophomore Kiefer Bell was 62nd in 24:17.1 and junior Jason Polydoris was 65th with a mark of 24:18.1 to round out Purdue's scorers.
Turney recorded a 6k time of 21:23.8 to place 83rd overall. She was the second of three finishers within 0.9 seconds. Three Boilermakers notched back-to-back-to-back finishes, led by sophomore Christel Elkins, who was 104th in 21:35.2. Senior Caroline Jordan was right behind her in 105th in 21:35.6, followed by junior Emma Squires who was 106th in 21:36.5. The trio just bested the next-closest finisher, who was 0.1 seconds behind Squires.
Freshman Paige Hazelrigg was 172nd in 22:26.2 to complete Purdue's scoring finishes.
Additional finishers for the men were senior Alex Frey (114th, 24:43.6), junior Brady Yoder (125th, 24:50.2), senior Geno Christofanelli (135th, 24:56.8) and graduate student Nathaniel Getachew (152nd, 25:13.4). For the women, it was freshman Sofia Munoz (173rd, 22:27.5), junior Jaelyn Burgos (174th, 22:28.1), freshman Ally Wigand (178th, 22:31.3) and freshman Elise Peckinpaugh (191st, 23:08.4).
Up next, the Boilermakers are on to the 2023 Big Ten Cross Country Champioships on October 27 in Madison, Wisconsin. The first of three postseason meets in the cross country season is set to commence at 11:45 a.m. ET.
For more on the Purdue track & field and cross country program, visit PurdueSports.com/CrossCountry and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.