Friday, September 6
Ashland, Neb. (Mahoney State Park)
6:30 PM
Creighton University
vs
Platte River Rumble "Gold" (5K)
Katherine Soule
Photo by: Jay Slagle
Men's Cross Country Wins Platte River Rumble "Gold" Race; Women Take Fourth
9/6/2024 8:56:00 PM | Men's Cross Country / Track, Women's Cross Country / Track
Veterans lead the way for the Jays
ASHLAND, Neb. -- The Creighton men's cross country team opened its 2024 fall season by winning the Platte River Rumble "Gold" race on Friday night at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb. It's the second straight year that the Bluejay men have prevailed on the same course, also winning the Platte River Rumble last October.
A CU women's squad trying to replace several top veterans placed fourth on Friday evening.
"It was good to get the win on the men's side," said head coach Chris Gannon. "The ladies ran well, without a few of our top runners who we held out because they are aren't fully healthy. I saw some things that were good and some others that we need to work on. We will get back to it."
Though South Dakota had four runners in the top nine of the men's race, Creighton prevailed in the team standings thanks to a stronger all around effort from its fifth runner (Ryan Montera). The Jays finished with 37 points to eke out a two-point win over South Dakota. Nebraska-Kearney was third with 83 points, just ahead of NW Missouri State's 89. The men's race included 89 runners.
Marcos Gonzalez, Jake Ziebarth and Tommy Murray led the CU men's side. Gonzalez opened his senior season traversing the 6K course in 18:06.51 to take third, one spot ahead of teammate Jake Ziebarth (18:08.42). Tommy Murray (18:12.70) finished in sixth, while newcomer Noah Jodon (18:16.53) took 10th in his Creighton debut. Also in the mix were Montera (14th in 18:26.94) and junior Cole Haith (23rd in 18:37.09). Additional rookies running their first collegiate race were freshmen Lucas Bossinger (24th in 18:37.73), Sam Berlinghof (32nd in 18:54.14), Diego Barron (47th in 19:17.17) and Gus Lampe (59th in 19:27.71).
The Bluejay men were ranked 15th in the preseason USTFCCCA Midwest Region rankings.
Junior Katherine Soule led Creighton by placing fifth on the 5K course with a time of 18:07.23, with sophomore Taylor Rorick in 12th place (18:26.28) not far behind. Sophomores Claire Pyne (18:48.15) and Scarlett Pearlman (18:54.12) finished in 28th and 29th, respectively, while junior Anika Nettekoven (19:02.99) placed 35th to round out CU's scoring contingent. Topping CU's newcomers was freshman Madeline Lage, who took 45th in 19:24.62 in her collegiate debut. Other freshmen performers included Alaire Serell (20:04.82) in 53rd place and Bella Gomez (21:45.56) in 67th . Soule's time was more than a minute better than her previous 5K best at the collegiate level, and each of CU's top five finishers had collegiate bests at the 5K distance.
Nebraska-Kearney's Reece Ewoldt won the women's race with a time of 17.50.51 for a three-second win over teammate Ella Buhlke. The women's race featured 89 runners. UNK also won the women's team race with 22 points after placing seven runners in the top 10. South Dakota (65) and NW Missouri State (91) also finished ahead of CU's 91 points, which edged out city rival Omaha (97) to finish in the top half of the race standings.
Both Bluejay teams will be back in action on Sept. 21 at the Woody Greeno/Dirksen Cross-Country Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.
A CU women's squad trying to replace several top veterans placed fourth on Friday evening.
"It was good to get the win on the men's side," said head coach Chris Gannon. "The ladies ran well, without a few of our top runners who we held out because they are aren't fully healthy. I saw some things that were good and some others that we need to work on. We will get back to it."
Though South Dakota had four runners in the top nine of the men's race, Creighton prevailed in the team standings thanks to a stronger all around effort from its fifth runner (Ryan Montera). The Jays finished with 37 points to eke out a two-point win over South Dakota. Nebraska-Kearney was third with 83 points, just ahead of NW Missouri State's 89. The men's race included 89 runners.
Marcos Gonzalez, Jake Ziebarth and Tommy Murray led the CU men's side. Gonzalez opened his senior season traversing the 6K course in 18:06.51 to take third, one spot ahead of teammate Jake Ziebarth (18:08.42). Tommy Murray (18:12.70) finished in sixth, while newcomer Noah Jodon (18:16.53) took 10th in his Creighton debut. Also in the mix were Montera (14th in 18:26.94) and junior Cole Haith (23rd in 18:37.09). Additional rookies running their first collegiate race were freshmen Lucas Bossinger (24th in 18:37.73), Sam Berlinghof (32nd in 18:54.14), Diego Barron (47th in 19:17.17) and Gus Lampe (59th in 19:27.71).
The Bluejay men were ranked 15th in the preseason USTFCCCA Midwest Region rankings.
Junior Katherine Soule led Creighton by placing fifth on the 5K course with a time of 18:07.23, with sophomore Taylor Rorick in 12th place (18:26.28) not far behind. Sophomores Claire Pyne (18:48.15) and Scarlett Pearlman (18:54.12) finished in 28th and 29th, respectively, while junior Anika Nettekoven (19:02.99) placed 35th to round out CU's scoring contingent. Topping CU's newcomers was freshman Madeline Lage, who took 45th in 19:24.62 in her collegiate debut. Other freshmen performers included Alaire Serell (20:04.82) in 53rd place and Bella Gomez (21:45.56) in 67th . Soule's time was more than a minute better than her previous 5K best at the collegiate level, and each of CU's top five finishers had collegiate bests at the 5K distance.
Nebraska-Kearney's Reece Ewoldt won the women's race with a time of 17.50.51 for a three-second win over teammate Ella Buhlke. The women's race featured 89 runners. UNK also won the women's team race with 22 points after placing seven runners in the top 10. South Dakota (65) and NW Missouri State (91) also finished ahead of CU's 91 points, which edged out city rival Omaha (97) to finish in the top half of the race standings.
Both Bluejay teams will be back in action on Sept. 21 at the Woody Greeno/Dirksen Cross-Country Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
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