Middle Tennessee Sweeps Men’s and Women’s Gold Races at Live In Lou Cross Country Classic
MIT’s Women and North Central’s Men Win NCAA Division III Pre-National Races at Sawyer State Park
Louisville, Ky. – October 5, 2019 – NCAA Division III no. 8-ranked MIT women’s team and powerhouse no. 1-ranked North Central College (Ill.) men’s team won the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic Silver races at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville. The races served as the Pre-Nationals for the NCAA Division III National Championships that will be held at Sawyer Park Nov. 23. Oberlin and St. Thomas (Minn.) ran second and third in the women’s race, and John Hopkins and Otterbein ran second and third in the men’s race.
Team scores for the top three finishers in the women’s Pre-Nationals were MIT (42), Oberlin (111), and St. Thomas (185); team scores for the top three finishers in the men’s Pre-Nationals were North Central (85), John’s Hopkins (116) and Otterbein (127).
Tyler Naul of Wisconsin-La Crosse won the men’s eight kilometer Silver Race in 24:19.2; Toler Freyaldenhoven of Rhodes was second (24:22.7) and Matt Osmulsko of North Central was third (24:24.0). The women’s six kilometer Pre-Nationals race was shortened due to a gate that was opened at the wrong time because of a lapped runner, which caused the field to deviate to an alternative course for spectator safety. The Games Committee decided to score the race at the 3.9 kilometer-mark (the last split time.) Katie Collins of MIT won the women’s race with a time of 13:50.1; Kelly Brennan of Baldwin Wallace was second (13:55.5); and Anastasia Tucker of Hope was third (14:05.5).
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) swept the men’s and women’s Gold Races with scores of 81 and 107, respectively. Louisville (111) and Campbell (147) ran second and third in the men’s race, while Lipscomp (145) and Xavier of Ohio (175) ran second and third in the women’s race. MTSU had five finishers in the top 32 of the men’s race, and the MTSU women had four runners finish in the top 20.
Less than five seconds separated the top three individuals in a sprint to the finish in the men’s eight kilometer Gold Race with Campbell’s Ahanas (22.58.5) edging Jacob Choge (23:00.6) and KIgen Chemadi (23.0.2.3) of MTSU. Ann Kostarillis of Xavier of Ohio won the women’s five kilometer Gold Race with a time of 16:43.1, followed by a duo from MTSU, Eusila Chepkemei (16:51.8) and Joice Jeber (16:52.5).
In the eight kilometer Blue Race, North Central’s men’s team edged St Francis (Ill) 57 to 67, with Detroit Mercy finishing third with 269. In the five kilometer women’s Blue Race, East Tennessee (104) edged St. Francis of Illinois (113) and Taylor (118).
Geoffrey Bwalley of Monroe College won the eight kilometer men’s Blue Race with a time of 24:10.9. Ero Doce of Lindenwood was second (24:28.1) and Austin Crowe also of Lindenwood was third (24:33.5). Nicole McMillan of Tusculum won the five kilometer women’s Blue Race with a time of 17.43.6, Sarah Harden of Taylor was second (17:56) and Rachel Strayer of Carson-Newman was third (18:12.5).