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Bearcats Excell at Live In Lou Cross Country Classic

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LOUISVILLE, Ky— The University of Cincinnati cross country teams excelled at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic, held at EP “Tom” Sawyer State Park on Saturday.

The men’s team placed fourth overall with 172 points in the gold 8K race, while the women’s team finished 16th with 488 points in the gold 5K.

“I thought things went really well today,” men’s head coach Lucas Rothenberger said. “There were a lot of positives, as we went in with a specific race plan. I think everyone that went out there today did a really good job of executing the race plan knowing that we are not just focused on this race, but we are trying to execute a race that will transfer to more important race down the road.”

Graduate student Milo Greder and senior Tyler Wirth dominated the 8K course for the men. Greder placed third overall with a time of 23:21.7, never falling outside of the top-10 performers and finishing with a mile pace of 4:41.

Reigning AAC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week Wirth followed on the heels of Greder for the majority of the course. He finished the race with a time of 23:26.0, leaping eight spots after 3.9K split from 12th to his eventual fourth place finish.

“It’s awesome,” Rothenberger said. “That’s what they are capable of. I think their first 8K (Michigan State Invitational) wasn’t perfect, but the first 8K is never perfect; it’s always a little difficult. It’s great to see their performance, they are ready to be All -Conference, All-Region inspiring athletes to qualify individually for the NCAA championships. I am excited to see them out there and it is fun to watch.”

Senior Matt Hoak placed 36th out of 301 competitors to round out three Bearcats inside the top-40. He crossed the finish line at the 24:11.4 mark with a mile average of 4:51.

Rounding out the rest of the men’s team scorers was graduate student Christian Stevens with a time of 24:24.2 for 60th and redshirt junior Juilis Hild in 24:30.8 to finish 69th.

For the third straight meet, senior Maddie Walker was the Bearcats’ top scorer on the women’s side. She posted a time of 17:09.4, finishing 21st overall after improving nine place after the first split.

“It was a really good performance, a really big step in the right direction,” women’s coach Sarah Anderson said. “This is the first week the team has really approached a race with a lot of confidence and poise. I think that came from our upperclassmen just having experience on this course. It was a step in the right direction that we need.”

Senior Rylee Penn found success on the 5K course, placing 74th with a time of 17:54.1. Penn was followed by freshman Sarah Madix, who finished 82nd out of 373 student-athletes.

Freshman Gwen Stare crossed in 158th with a time of 18:30.1 and senior Carmela Henning placed 180th with a time of 18:36.6 to round out the women’s card.

NEXT TIME OUT

The UC cross country teams will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 14, in Peoria, Illinois for the Brady Pink Classic, hosted by Bradly University. This will be the team’s last chance to prepare for the AAC championships on Friday, Oct. 28, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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