Cross Country Wins Platte River Rumble "Collegiate" Races

ASHLAND, Neb. -- The Creighton men's and women's cross country squads defended their team titles as both programs won the Platte River Rumble "Collegiate" race on Friday afternoon. The competition was CU's final tune-up prior to the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships, held on the same Olsson Cross Country Course, on Oct. 31 at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb.

"Today we competed well," said head coach Chris Gannon. "There's a difference between running well and competing well, and today we did a good job of competing. We had some athletes really step up and run well today. That's exciting to see as you're entering the championship part of your season."

Creighton had four of the top six men's finishers in the 8K race, led by a runner-up finish from senior Eli Moore in 25:27.33. Moore finished four seconds behind Midland's Lucas Hjortkjaer (25:23.55).

The Bluejay pack immediately behind Moore included freshman Andrew Sauer (25:38.34), sophomore Lucas Bossinger (25:40.97), junior Dominic Ricci (25:48.35) and senior Cole Haith (25:54.51) who placed third through sixth. Also earning a top 10 finish was freshman Owen Marett in 26:08.04.

Creighton had a near-perfect score of 20 to easily out-distance South Dakota State (65) and Kansas City (103) in a race that included eight programs.

Creighton also had five women in the top 10, paced by freshmen Atlee Wallman (22:00.13) in third place and Reyna Heisserer (22:24.69) in sixth. Senior Katherine Soule (22:36.85) was seventh, just ahead of Carly Manchester (22:41.97) in eighth and Anika Nettekoven (22:45.43) in ninth.

Creighton topped the seven-team women's race with 28 points, just ahead of Omaha (46) and South Dakota State (82). The women's race featured 64 competitors and was won by Mya Kizer (21:45.58) who ran unattached. Mariah Belmont (21:56.38) from Kansas City led all affiliated runners.

"We're excited for the next two weeks as we finish up some final prep and get a few people entirely healthy and that's going to be the goal for the next two weeks," added Gannon. "Looking forward to racing, running and competing well again on the 31st."

The Bluejays are back in action on Oct. 31 when they host the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships for the first time.

Cross Country Wins Platte River Rumble "Collegiate" Races

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Players Mentioned

Lucas Bossinger

Cole Haith

Reyna Heisserer

Carly Manchester

Owen Marett

Eli Moore

Anika Nettekoven

Dominic Ricci

Andrew Sauer

Katherine Soule

Atlee Wallman