TicketsEAST LANSING, Mich.— The University of Cincinnati cross county teams shined against the competitive field at the Spartan Invite on Friday at the Forest Akers East Golf Course. The men placed second overall with 89 points and the women came in fifth at 156 points.
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Tyler Wirth looked dominant in his season debut, finishing sixth with an 8K time of 24:45.84. The senior recorded a sub 5-minute average mile at 4:58 and never fell outside of the top-seven performers in any split. Wirth was followed by fellow senior Milo Greder, who crossed the finish line at the 24:59.34 mark for 12th overall in his season debut.
"Solid effort by our guys today, the heat affected a few of our athletes a little more than we had expected, but we had others really step up, assistant coach Lucas Rothenberger said. I think we saw a noticeable improvement across the board for our group, and I think we are just now starting to grasp what we are really capable of. "
In his second collegiate meet, freshman Bobby Ganser recorded a time of 25:18.07 for 20th overall. Following closely behind Ganser was senior Matt Hoak in 25:24.12 and junior Ryan Pehlman in 25:29.68, who finished 26th and 32nd, respectively.
In total, four Bearcats placed inside the top 30 out of the 256 student-athletes competing on the men's side.
In the women's 6K, Maddie Walker had an excellent race completing the course with a time of 21:58.72 to claim 12th overall. Walker is continuing her strong start to the season, recording an average mile time of 5:53. It is now back-to-back races that she has found herself sitting inside the top-15 after a second-place finish at the RedHawk Rumble on Sept. 3.
"Today was a great opportunity to get another race under our belt against good competition. It's a tough course, and Maddie did a solid job sticking her nose up in the front pack," assistant coach Sarah Anderson said. The freshman did a great job tackling their first 6k, and Caitlyn Walsh had a big improvement. September racing never feels amazing, so I'm proud of the ladies for working together and progressing from the last race"
Following Walker was freshman stand-out Sarah Madix ran well against the tough field, recording a time of 22:44.88 to place 38th out of 217 student-athletes. Senior Rylee Penn also found her grove in East Lansing, crossing the finish line at the 22:48.33 mark for 44th place. Rounding out the rest of the scorers for the women were senior Caitlyn Walsh in 23:04.44 for 55th and freshman Gwen Stare in 23:07.30 for 57th.
Grand Valley State (45 points) won the men's 8K, while host Michigan State claimed the women's 6K (19).
UP NEXT
The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 1, as they make the short trip to Louisville, Ky. for the Live in Lou.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Track and Field/Cross Country, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. and follow @GoBearcatsTFXC on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
.
Tyler Wirth looked dominant in his season debut, finishing sixth with an 8K time of 24:45.84. The senior recorded a sub 5-minute average mile at 4:58 and never fell outside of the top-seven performers in any split. Wirth was followed by fellow senior Milo Greder, who crossed the finish line at the 24:59.34 mark for 12th overall in his season debut.
"Solid effort by our guys today, the heat affected a few of our athletes a little more than we had expected, but we had others really step up, assistant coach Lucas Rothenberger said. I think we saw a noticeable improvement across the board for our group, and I think we are just now starting to grasp what we are really capable of. "
In his second collegiate meet, freshman Bobby Ganser recorded a time of 25:18.07 for 20th overall. Following closely behind Ganser was senior Matt Hoak in 25:24.12 and junior Ryan Pehlman in 25:29.68, who finished 26th and 32nd, respectively.
In total, four Bearcats placed inside the top 30 out of the 256 student-athletes competing on the men's side.
In the women's 6K, Maddie Walker had an excellent race completing the course with a time of 21:58.72 to claim 12th overall. Walker is continuing her strong start to the season, recording an average mile time of 5:53. It is now back-to-back races that she has found herself sitting inside the top-15 after a second-place finish at the RedHawk Rumble on Sept. 3.
"Today was a great opportunity to get another race under our belt against good competition. It's a tough course, and Maddie did a solid job sticking her nose up in the front pack," assistant coach Sarah Anderson said. The freshman did a great job tackling their first 6k, and Caitlyn Walsh had a big improvement. September racing never feels amazing, so I'm proud of the ladies for working together and progressing from the last race"
Following Walker was freshman stand-out Sarah Madix ran well against the tough field, recording a time of 22:44.88 to place 38th out of 217 student-athletes. Senior Rylee Penn also found her grove in East Lansing, crossing the finish line at the 22:48.33 mark for 44th place. Rounding out the rest of the scorers for the women were senior Caitlyn Walsh in 23:04.44 for 55th and freshman Gwen Stare in 23:07.30 for 57th.
Grand Valley State (45 points) won the men's 8K, while host Michigan State claimed the women's 6K (19).
UP NEXT
The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 1, as they make the short trip to Louisville, Ky. for the Live in Lou.
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati Track and Field/Cross Country, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. and follow @GoBearcatsTFXC on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.