MEN'S RESULTS I WOMEN'S RESULTS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s cross country team finished fourth out of 38 teams while the women’s team finished eighth out of 35 teams in the talent-laden gold races of the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday morning at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park.

Freshman Soufiane Bouchikhi led the men’s team as he finished ninth out of 323 runners with an 8K time of 23:41.66. Sophomore Victor Kemboi finished 17th with a time of 24:07.09 and senior Evans Kiptoo finished 29th with a time of 24:23.90. There was a glaring drop-off following the Colonels’ top three, however, as freshman Adams Ronnoh finished 109th with a time of 25:15.44 and junior Chris Rice rounded out EKU’s top five with a 116th place finish in a time of 25:19.39.

The Colonel men were missing two of their top five runners at the meet as juniors David Mutuse and Musa Kimuli sat out due to injuries. Freshman Ole Hesselbjerg, who finished fourth on the team last weekend at the Memphis Twilight Classic, and sophomore Daniel Jones, who was seventh on the team at Memphis, got caught up in a collision and subsequent pileup early in the race and never recovered.

EKU’s region rival Louisville won the race while Division II teams Grand Valley State and Colorado School of Mines finished second and third, respectively. The Colonels defeated such schools as Southern Illinois (ninth in the Midwest), Georgia (fifth in the South), Ole Miss (sixth in the South), Missouri (15th in the Midwest), Kentucky (14th in the Southeast), Mississippi State (eighth in the South) and in-state rival Western Kentucky.

Sophomore Picoty Leitich, last year’s OVC champion, led the women’s team for the first time this season as she finished 19th out of 302 runners with a 5K time of 17:37.53. Senior Kat Pagano was not far behind as she finished 21st with a time of 17:38.50. Sophomore Jackline Barkechir was 77th with a time of 18:21.22 while junior Danielle Mason was 80th with a time of 18:22.91. Freshman Hannah Miller rounded out the Colonels’ top five finishers as she placed 121st with a time of 18:42.89.

Senior Sylvia Bundotich, who finished fourth on the team last weekend at the Memphis Twilight Classic, did not run at the meet due to injury.

Grand Valley State won the women’s race while notable schools such as Vanderbilt (second), Georgia (third), Western Kentucky (fifth) and Missouri (sixth) finished ahead of EKU. The Colonels defeated the likes of Kentucky (seventh in the Southeast), Mississippi State (13th in the South), Louisville and Georgia Tech (15th in the South).

The cross country Colonels have this weekend off before they compete at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct. 16 in Terre Haute, Ind.