Bearcats Compete at Live in Lou XC Classic

CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati cross country programs once again posted solid times on the course as the Bearcats raced in a pair of very large races at the 18th Live in Lou Cross Country Classic Saturday morning at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. UC's top finisher was 38th overall in both races as Maddie Walker paced the women and Christian Stevens led the men.

// TEAM RESULTS
In the team standings, the men finished seventh overall among 57 teams in the blue race while them women finished 11th in a field of 39 scoring teams. For the men, the Bearcats tallied 381 points to finish seventh as North Central (Ill.), the top-ranked team in NCAA Division III, won with 57 points, edging past St. Francis (Ill.), the #4 team in NAIA, and its 67 points. The rest of the Top 5 included the Indiana Running Club in third (240), Detroit Mercy in fourth (269) and Western Kentucky in fifth (339).

On the women's side, Middle Tennessee State won the team title with 103 points and were followed in the Top 3 by Lipscomb (145) and Xavier (175). Johns Hopkins, the #1 team in NCAA Division III, was fourth with 195 points and Marquette fifth with 201. The Bearcats scored 376 points to tie for 10th place with AAC foe Memphis, but UC finished 11th on the tiebreaker, 3-2.

// RECAP • WOMEN
Ten women started the race for the Bearcats with nine finishing as freshman Walker led the charge with a 38th-place finish as she crossed the line in 17:47.2, her fastest time of the year at 5,000m. She was followed across the line by Lauren Kemper, who made her Bearcats debut finishing 51st overall in 17:58.1. The team's Top 5 scorers were rounded out by Rylee Penn (87th in 18:18.1), Olivia Tyre (97th in 18:24.2) and Sam Mikula (106th in 18:29.1), who was racing for the first time this season. Additionally, four other Bearcats finished the race including Sydney Hess (18:40.1) in 131st, Katrina Patterson (18:47.9) in 152nd, Ellee Bullock (19:05.4) in 197th, and Madalyn O'Dea (19:38.9) in 268th. Leah Maschino also ran for the team, but her results were omitted from the final standings.

// RECAP • MEN
The men ran in a very congested field as 57 teams had at least five runners score with 515 total runners finishing the event. In that massive field, the Bearcats' Top 4 all finished in the Top 90 with Stevens leading the way in 38th place. Stevens ran 25:30.4 to lead a young group across the line as the next three finishers all ran their first race at the 8,000m distance. Jonathan Harley finished 55th overall in 25:41.9, Matt Hoak was 66th in 25:50.9, and Jase Headings was 87th in 26:10.6. Matt Stump rounded out the five UC runners on the day as he was 209th in 27:21.1

// LOWERING TIMES
Eight Bearcats, including four men and four women, posted improved times on the day with seven total personal bests and one season best being recorded. On the women's side, Walker ran a collegiate PR and season best by 26.0 seconds while Kemper turned in an improvement of 35.7 seconds and her first sub-18-minute 5,000m run after running 18:33.8 at the Friendship Invitational earlier this year as a member of the UC Running Club. Penn lowered her all-time best at the 5,000m distance by 13.5 seconds while Hess continued her streak of PRs as she turned in an 11.4 second PR and, adding that to her two PRs earlier this year, she now has lowered her time by 51.6 seconds total this year. On the men's side, Stevens' time was 15.1 second improvement over his previous best of 25:45.3 run on the same course last year while the times for Harley, Hoak and Headings are all PRs as it was their first time competing at the distance.

// NEXT MEET
The final meet of the regular season awaits the Bearcats in two weeks as they will venture to Terre Haute, Ind., and the Lavern Gibson Championship Course for the 2019 NCAA Pre-National Meet hosted by Indiana State. The meet, which will take place Saturday, October 19, will be run on the same course that will play host to the NCAA Championships later this season.

18th Live in Lou XC Classic
E.P. 'Tom' Sawyer State Park • Louisville, Ky.
Race #2 • Team Results • Women's 5,000m • Gold Race
1. Middle Tennessee State • 103
2. Lipscomb • 145
3. Xavier • 175
4. [D3 #1] Johns Hopkins • 195
5. Marquette • 201
6. Louisville • 291
7. Campbell • 311
8. Southwest Baptist • 332
9. Appalachian State • 336
10. Memphis • 376*
11. CINCINNATI • 376*
* Memphis won tiebreaker (3-2)
39 teams scored

Individual Results • Women's 5,000m
38. Maddie Walker • 17:47.2 • SB
51. Lauren Kemper • 17:58.1 • PR
87. Rylee Penn • 18:18.1 • PR
97. Olivia Tyre • 18:24.2
106. Sam Mikula • 18:29.1
131. Sydney Hess • 18:40.1 • PR
152. Katrina Patterson • 18:47.9
197. Ellee Bullock • 19:05.4
268. Madalyn O'Dea • 19:38.9
unk Leah Maschino • time & finish omitted from results
342 runners finished

Race #3 • Team Results • Men's 8,000m • Blue Race
1. [D3 #1] North Central (Ill.) • 57
2. [NAIA #4] St. Francis (Ill.) • 67
3. IU Running Club • 240
4. Detroit Mercy • 269
5. Western Kentucky • 339
6. Michigan-Dearborn • 368
7. CINCINNATI • 381
8. William Carey • 393
9. [D3 #23] John Carroll • 402
10. [NAIA rv] Campbellsville • 423
57 teams scored

Individual Results • Men's 8,000m
38. Christian Stevens • 25:30.2 • PR
55. Jonathan Harley • 25:41.9 • PR
66. Matt Hoak • 25:50.9 • PR
87. Jase Headings • 26:10.6 • PR
209. Matt Stump • 27:21.1
515 runners finished