TicketsEAST LANSING, Mich. -- Ann Lemirisho excelled for the second-straight event to start her career, finishing third out of 255 qualified runners, and both Cincinnati cross country teams enjoyed positive results from the day.
The women finished fourth in their 6K (122 points), while the men were fifth (135) in their 8K.
"On the men’s side, the final result doesn’t look particularly special," head coach Lucas Rothenberger said. "But, I feel very good about where we are headed. Two of our top five athletes did not factor into our team scoring today, so when we do put together our full lineup, I think we will be pretty competitive."
The women bested Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Rutgers and Purdue, among others, including teams picked ahead of them in the preseason USTFCCCA rankings. Lemirisho's 20:18.3 mark paced the Bearcats ahead of excellent performances by Claire Curtsinger (12th) and Abby Sewell (17th).
Lucas Towne was the Bearcats' top male performer for the second-straight event at 24:13.6 in the 8K, four spots ahead of Seth Elkings (24:18.4). Jacob Sebaugh was No. 38 at 24:43.7.
"For the women, it’s exciting to watch them grow," he said. "There’s a lot of ability and promise, as well as some good experience. So, I think the plan is to bring everyone along in a way where we don’t put limits on them. I think if we manage the season properly, we can have a very good team in late October and November."
The Bearcats have a few weeks off before returning to action Friday, Oct. 3 at Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invite.