MADISON, Wis. – The Purdue cross country team placed fourth in the men's event at the 2023 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday morning.
Junior Nathan Walker led the team with a 12th-place finish to earn All-Big Ten Second Team honors. It's the Boilermakers' best individual Big Ten finish since Curt Eckstein was fifth at the 2020-21 championships.
The men finished fourth overall for their best finish in three years and their sixth top-five finish in the last seven years. That top-five streak, which began in 2017, was preceded by five total top-five finishes from 1951-2016. The only other time in program history where the Boilermakers finished in the top five more often than the current stretch was when they recorded 14 top-five finishes in 15 seasons from 1931-1950.
Purdue's men totaled 115 points on Friday. No. 24 Wisconsin (19 points) won the men's team title and No. 19 Michigan (63) was second, followed by RV Michigan State (86) in third. The Boilermakers topped fifth-place Illinois (133).
Junior Emma Squires led the women with a 34th place finish, her best career Big Ten Cross Country placement. As a team, the Boilermakers were 12th with 290 points. No. 15 Michigan State (46) won the women's championship, ahead of No. 22 Wisconsin (81) and Michigan (102).
Squires and Walker were two of eight Boilermakers – five men and three women – who notched their best career Big Ten Cross Country finishes. Additionally, 13 runners competed at their first Big Ten Championships of any kind, either cross country or track & field.
"I thought our men had a great race," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "They have been running consistently all season long. It was a challenging course with all the rain we had the day prior, but despite that, they showed great poise and stuck to the race plan. Our women are very young and will be better next cross country season."
It was an overcast morning with temperatures in the low 60s in Madison, with light rain at the beginning of both the men's and women's races. Wisconsin hosted the conference championship meet at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course for the first time since 2010.
Walker finished the 8k men's race with a time of 24:43.7 to place 12th overall. As he held off the 13th-place finisher by 0.5 seconds, Walker improved on a 19th-place finish a year ago. Sophomore Douglas Buckeridge was close behind Walker in 16th place thanks to a time of 24:50.4, and senior Caleb Williams was 19th in 24:55.1. It was Williams' first top-20 Big Ten finish, as he improved 24 places from a year ago.
Sophomore Kiefer Bell crossed the finish line in 32nd place overall with a time of 25:18.9. Ten seconds later was junior Jason Polydoris, who was 39th in 25:28.6 to round out Purdue's top five finishers who earned points for the team. Polydoris also earned his best career Big Ten finish, as he moved up 15 spots from his inaugural championships in 2022.
Squires once again paced the women in the 6k with a finish of 22:08.6 to place 34th. It's Squires best Big Ten finish and an improvement of 17 places from a season ago. Senior Payne Turney also notched a personal-best finish, as she was 55th in 22:33.0. Turney bested the next-closest finisher by 1.4 seconds.
Sophomore Christel Elkins led a trio of Boilermaker finishers within eight places, as she was 75th in 22:54.6. Senior Caroline Jordan was 78th in 22:56.1 for a career-best Big Ten finish, followed by freshman Ally Wigand in 82nd. Her time of 22:59.4 was Purdue's fifth and final scoring finish.
Additional runners for the men were junior Brady Yoder (41st, 25:30.9), graduate student Nathaniel Getachew (54th, 25:42.7), senior Geno Christofanelli (75th, 26:18.5), senior Alex Frey (98th, 26:45.2), freshman Jaryn Weinel (114th, 27:11.7), graduate student Ian Hunter (119th, 27:32.1) and freshman Quintin Lowe (122nd, 27:45.0).
Also racing for the women were freshman Paige Hazelrigg (105th, 23:34.1), freshman Elise Peckinpaugh (112th, 23:47.8), sophomore Sofia Muñoz (124th, 23:56.8), junior Jaelyn Burgos (135th, 24:17.2), freshman Julia Economou (141st, 24:29.8) and sophomore Olivia Phillips (149th, 25:20.4)
Yoder and Christofanelli registered their best Big Ten finishes on Friday.
Up next, the Boilermakers come back to Madison in two weeks for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, November 10. Purdue will race for a trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, both individually and as a team.
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.
Junior Nathan Walker led the team with a 12th-place finish to earn All-Big Ten Second Team honors. It's the Boilermakers' best individual Big Ten finish since Curt Eckstein was fifth at the 2020-21 championships.
The men finished fourth overall for their best finish in three years and their sixth top-five finish in the last seven years. That top-five streak, which began in 2017, was preceded by five total top-five finishes from 1951-2016. The only other time in program history where the Boilermakers finished in the top five more often than the current stretch was when they recorded 14 top-five finishes in 15 seasons from 1931-1950.
Purdue's men totaled 115 points on Friday. No. 24 Wisconsin (19 points) won the men's team title and No. 19 Michigan (63) was second, followed by RV Michigan State (86) in third. The Boilermakers topped fifth-place Illinois (133).
Junior Emma Squires led the women with a 34th place finish, her best career Big Ten Cross Country placement. As a team, the Boilermakers were 12th with 290 points. No. 15 Michigan State (46) won the women's championship, ahead of No. 22 Wisconsin (81) and Michigan (102).
Squires and Walker were two of eight Boilermakers – five men and three women – who notched their best career Big Ten Cross Country finishes. Additionally, 13 runners competed at their first Big Ten Championships of any kind, either cross country or track & field.
"I thought our men had a great race," Purdue coach Norbert Elliott said. "They have been running consistently all season long. It was a challenging course with all the rain we had the day prior, but despite that, they showed great poise and stuck to the race plan. Our women are very young and will be better next cross country season."
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It was an overcast morning with temperatures in the low 60s in Madison, with light rain at the beginning of both the men's and women's races. Wisconsin hosted the conference championship meet at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course for the first time since 2010.
Walker finished the 8k men's race with a time of 24:43.7 to place 12th overall. As he held off the 13th-place finisher by 0.5 seconds, Walker improved on a 19th-place finish a year ago. Sophomore Douglas Buckeridge was close behind Walker in 16th place thanks to a time of 24:50.4, and senior Caleb Williams was 19th in 24:55.1. It was Williams' first top-20 Big Ten finish, as he improved 24 places from a year ago.
Sophomore Kiefer Bell crossed the finish line in 32nd place overall with a time of 25:18.9. Ten seconds later was junior Jason Polydoris, who was 39th in 25:28.6 to round out Purdue's top five finishers who earned points for the team. Polydoris also earned his best career Big Ten finish, as he moved up 15 spots from his inaugural championships in 2022.
Squires once again paced the women in the 6k with a finish of 22:08.6 to place 34th. It's Squires best Big Ten finish and an improvement of 17 places from a season ago. Senior Payne Turney also notched a personal-best finish, as she was 55th in 22:33.0. Turney bested the next-closest finisher by 1.4 seconds.
Sophomore Christel Elkins led a trio of Boilermaker finishers within eight places, as she was 75th in 22:54.6. Senior Caroline Jordan was 78th in 22:56.1 for a career-best Big Ten finish, followed by freshman Ally Wigand in 82nd. Her time of 22:59.4 was Purdue's fifth and final scoring finish.
Additional runners for the men were junior Brady Yoder (41st, 25:30.9), graduate student Nathaniel Getachew (54th, 25:42.7), senior Geno Christofanelli (75th, 26:18.5), senior Alex Frey (98th, 26:45.2), freshman Jaryn Weinel (114th, 27:11.7), graduate student Ian Hunter (119th, 27:32.1) and freshman Quintin Lowe (122nd, 27:45.0).
Also racing for the women were freshman Paige Hazelrigg (105th, 23:34.1), freshman Elise Peckinpaugh (112th, 23:47.8), sophomore Sofia Muñoz (124th, 23:56.8), junior Jaelyn Burgos (135th, 24:17.2), freshman Julia Economou (141st, 24:29.8) and sophomore Olivia Phillips (149th, 25:20.4)
Yoder and Christofanelli registered their best Big Ten finishes on Friday.
Up next, the Boilermakers come back to Madison in two weeks for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, November 10. Purdue will race for a trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, both individually and as a team.
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.