SAVOY, Ill. – The Purdue cross country team made the most of its Big Ten Preview at Illinois' Orange and Blue Golf Course, as the men placed fifth and the women came in sixth.
The course will be the same one the Boilermakers will compete on in November for the Big Ten Championships.
PURDUE MEN (5th, 118 pts) – 8k
All five scoring runners finished in the top 31, as the men's team finished fifth with 118 points. Eight runners came across the line in the top 38. Wisconsin won the men's race with 24 points.
Nathan Walker paced Purdue with an 11th-place finish in 24:00.0. Jason Polydoris notched his best career mark with a 24:18.1 to come across the line in 21st.
The next seven Boilermakers finished within 12.8 seconds of each other.
Douglas Buckeridge was the third Boilermaker to reach the line, coming in 26th with a time of 24:20.0. Caleb Williams was 2.3 seconds behind Buckeridge in 29th with a mark of 24:22.3. Nerius White rounded out the scoring in 31st with a time of 24:23.5.
Four Boilermakers finished within seven spots of scoring. Geno Christofanelli was 34th with a time of 24:28.4. Kiefer Bell was 36th in 24:30.6. Brady Yoder edged Alex Frey for 37th with a time of 24:42.6, .2 seconds ahead of his teammate.
11 (11) – Nathan Walker – 24:00.4
21 (21) – Jason Polydoris – 24:11.4
26 (26) – Douglas Buckeridge – 24:20.0
29 (29) – Caleb Williams – 24:22.3
31 (31) – Nerius White – 24:23.5
34 – Geno Christofanelli – 24:28.4
36 – Kiefer Bell – 24:30.6
37 – Brady Yoder – 24:32.6
38 – Alex Frey – 24:32.8
73 – Jaryn Weinel – 25:47.4
76 – Quintin Lowe – 26:00.8
77 – Matthew Helton – 26:05.6
PURDUE WOMEN (6th, 145 pts) – 6k
The women placed sixth with a score of 145 points, just six points behind fifth-place Iowa. Northwestern claimed the title with 40 points.
Payne Turney led the way for the Boilermakers with a 13th-place finish in a time of 20:57.2, with her second career 6k race under 21-minutes. Emma Squires followed closely behind in 26th after posting a mark of 21:22.8.
Caroline Jordan posted her fastest career time in a 6k with a mark of 21:35.6 to finish 31st. Jaelyn Burgos followed suit in 34th and a personal best of 21:39.4, shaving 40 seconds off her previous best in a 6k.
Meredith Bloss rounded out the scoring times in 41st to finish in 21:55.1.
A trio of Boilermakers also recorded career-best times on the women's side – Sarah Maggio (54, 22:03.5), Sophia Yon (57, 22:09.7), Lauren Pegher (84, 23:07.0)
13 (13) – Payne Turney – 20:57.2
26 (26) – Emma Squires – 21:22.8
31 (32) – Caroline Jordan – 21:31.3
34 (36) – Jaelyn Burgos – 21:39.4
41 (45) – Meredith Bloss – 21:55.1
54 – Sarah Maggio – 22:03.5
57 – Sophia Yon – 22:09.7
76 – Sofia Munoz – 22:42.2
77 – Paige Hazelrigg – 22:42.6
80 – Ally Wigand – 22:50.2
84 – Lauren Pegher – 23:07.0
95 – Katherine Rumsey – 23:45.8
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will have a few weeks off before returning to action at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 4. Races are slated to start at 10:30 a.m.