Sophomores Lead the Way For Cross Country Teams at Gans Creek Classic

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Creighton Men's and Women's Cross Country teams placed 16th and 20th, respectively, at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri on Friday morning.

Sophomore Marcos Gonzalez led the way (44th) for the men for the third time in as many races this season. Gonzalez improved his 8K PR from last season's Gans Creek Classic to 24:33.4, setting a program record in the process. The previous best 8K time in school history had been Peter Cole's 24:37 at the Evansville Invitational on Oct. 13, 2007. Gonzalez was also the top Bluejay finisher as a freshman last year at the Gans Creek Classic. Gonzalez improved from 167th to 92nd at the 4K midway checkpoint before moving up 48 more spots in the second half of the race.

Two more sophomores followed Gonzalez in Creighton's scoring contingent as Tommy Ward finished in 119th at 25:27.0 while Ryan Montera was close behind in 128th (25:33.2).

Juniors Danny Bohnemann (158th) and Michael Buckley (170th) rounded out the Bluejay scoring with times of 25:55.5 and 26:09.8.

The team's 453 points was good for 16th place in the 22-team, 237-participant Men's 8K DI race. Iowa State dominated on the course, as each of its top five scores placed in the top 11 (1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 11th) and bested second place Illinois by a grand 94 points. ISU junior Ezekiel Rop won the men's race by five seconds with a time of 23:34.2.

In the women's 6K race, the absence of senior Danielle Hotalling for the second consecutive meet saw the Bluejays place 20th in a field of 24 teams with 240 participants.

Junior Morgan Koca was the first Bluejay finisher in 116th with a 6K time of 22:29.6 and the only upperclassman to record points for Creighton. For the second consecutive race freshman Caroline Rupper (22:39.7, 124th) finished 10 seconds behind Koca as the pair were the 1-2 punch for Creighton's scoring.

Freshman Carly Manchester placed 169th at 23:29.0 in the third competition of her collegiate career. Sophomores Siobhan Stoll and Caroline Colburn crossed the finish line one after the other in 175th and 176th, clocking in a second apart at 23:35.8 and 23:36.8.

The women's team finished 49 points behind 19th-place UMKC and 14 points ahead of 21st-place Western Illinois. The stacked competition with eight power-five teams and some of the women's cross country's best mid-majors saw Illinois (54 pts.) narrowly beat out Lipscomb (60 pts.) and Northwestern (62 pts.) for the Gans Creek Classic title. Illinois junior Olivia Howell won the women's race in a time of 20:21.1, edging Northwestern's Rachel McCardell (20:30.6) for the individual title.

Both of Creighton's men's and women's teams will be back in action in two weeks for the inaugural Platte River Rumble at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb. on Friday, Oct. 14. The starting gun is set to fire for the women's 6K at 1:00 pm with the men's 8K following at 1:45 pm. Admission is free for all spectators, though a $6 (in-state) or $8 (out-of-state) parking fee will be charged for those without a Nebraska State Park Pass. Food trucks, a beer garden and prime checkpoint-viewing locations will be available for fans at the opening races of the Bluejays' home course.

Sophomores Lead the Way For Cross Country Teams at Gans Creek Classic

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Players Mentioned

Danny Bohnemann

Michael Buckley

Caroline Colburn

Marcos Gonzalez

Danielle Hotalling

Morgan Koca

Carly Manchester

Ryan Montera

Caroline Rupper

Siobhan Stoll

Tommy Ward