
Eli Moore
Photo by: Jay Slagle
Distance Runners Shine at Musco Twilight
5/3/2025 9:03:00 PM | Men's Cross Country / Track, Women's Cross Country / Track
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A dominant effort in the 800 led the Creighton Track teams on Saturday at the Musco Twilight in Iowa City, Iowa. The meet is expected to be the final one for all of today's performers prior to the BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 15-17 in Storrs, Conn.
"Today was a great opportunity at Iowa to wrap up the season for some athletes and get a final tune-up for the BIG EAST Championships for those competing in two weeks," said head coach Chris Gannon.
CU's most impressive performances came in the men's 800, where Jake Ziebarth (1:49.94), Evan Kraus (1:50.70) and Ryan Hendrickson (1:51.11) clocked the second-, third- and fourth-best times in program history. Only Tommy Ward's 1:48.80 in 2023 -- which earned him a spot in the NCAA Regionals -- is faster.
"The highlight of the day was absolutely the men's 800. Three good PR's for that top group of guys. Coach Fayers has them running well," noted Gannon.
Junior Eli Moore placed third in the 1,500 with a personal-best time of 4:00.87 and was joined by Cole Haith (4:04.85) and Gus Lampe (4:09.49) in the top 10.
Logan Piper, Diego Barron, Rhys Cushman and Haith teamed up in the 4x400 relay to take sixth in 3:31.48, while Piper finished the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 55:98 to pick up a sixth place finish.
The Bluejays owned six of the top seven spots in the 3,000, a grouping led by runner-up Marcos Gonzalez (8:41.09), Lucas Bossinger (8:50.30) and Henry Slagle (8:53.73). Finishing fifth through seventh were sophomore Jonathan Lukas in a personal-best time of 8:55.90, as well as freshman Sam Berlinghof (8:59.16) and senior Jack Sorensen (9:18.63).
"A few of our guys ran their last race in a Bluejay uniform today," added Gannon. "We can't thank Jack and Henry enough for their contributions over the last four years. Jack started off as our team manager and eventually earned a walk-on position. He improved enough as a runner to make our NCAA Regional Cross Country team this past fall. Henry is a guy who has always invested himself fully into our program. He's had a few injuries over the years, continued to believe in the process and finished off this spring season running the best he ever has."
On the women's side, Natalee Gehred, Anika Nettekoven, Carly Manchester and Katie Roche ran the fastest 4x400 relay in program history with a time of 4:02.45. The quartet shaved 0.42 seconds off their previous best they ran on April 11th at the Jim Duncan Invitational, though three weeks ago Roche ran second and Nettekoven the anchor leg. Gehred (1:02.30) also placed fourth in the 400 meters.
Freshman Alexis Leone (4:56.31) and junior Katherine Soule (4:57.06) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, after clocking season-best times in the 1,500.
Five Bluejay women ran in the 3,000 meters for the first time this spring. Sophomore Taylor Rorick crossed the tape in 10:22.90 to place second while running the seventh-fastest outdoor time in program history. Senior Molly Rogers (10:46.08) and Scarlett Pearlman (10:53.25) also finished in the top 10.
Junior Alexis Huddin (2:18.80), freshman Anna Bridges (2:20.77) and sophomore Sophia Valentine (2:23.96) finished 13th, 14th and 15th in the 800, with Bridges owning a season-best time.
"Today was a great opportunity at Iowa to wrap up the season for some athletes and get a final tune-up for the BIG EAST Championships for those competing in two weeks," said head coach Chris Gannon.
CU's most impressive performances came in the men's 800, where Jake Ziebarth (1:49.94), Evan Kraus (1:50.70) and Ryan Hendrickson (1:51.11) clocked the second-, third- and fourth-best times in program history. Only Tommy Ward's 1:48.80 in 2023 -- which earned him a spot in the NCAA Regionals -- is faster.
"The highlight of the day was absolutely the men's 800. Three good PR's for that top group of guys. Coach Fayers has them running well," noted Gannon.
Junior Eli Moore placed third in the 1,500 with a personal-best time of 4:00.87 and was joined by Cole Haith (4:04.85) and Gus Lampe (4:09.49) in the top 10.
Logan Piper, Diego Barron, Rhys Cushman and Haith teamed up in the 4x400 relay to take sixth in 3:31.48, while Piper finished the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 55:98 to pick up a sixth place finish.
The Bluejays owned six of the top seven spots in the 3,000, a grouping led by runner-up Marcos Gonzalez (8:41.09), Lucas Bossinger (8:50.30) and Henry Slagle (8:53.73). Finishing fifth through seventh were sophomore Jonathan Lukas in a personal-best time of 8:55.90, as well as freshman Sam Berlinghof (8:59.16) and senior Jack Sorensen (9:18.63).
"A few of our guys ran their last race in a Bluejay uniform today," added Gannon. "We can't thank Jack and Henry enough for their contributions over the last four years. Jack started off as our team manager and eventually earned a walk-on position. He improved enough as a runner to make our NCAA Regional Cross Country team this past fall. Henry is a guy who has always invested himself fully into our program. He's had a few injuries over the years, continued to believe in the process and finished off this spring season running the best he ever has."
On the women's side, Natalee Gehred, Anika Nettekoven, Carly Manchester and Katie Roche ran the fastest 4x400 relay in program history with a time of 4:02.45. The quartet shaved 0.42 seconds off their previous best they ran on April 11th at the Jim Duncan Invitational, though three weeks ago Roche ran second and Nettekoven the anchor leg. Gehred (1:02.30) also placed fourth in the 400 meters.
Freshman Alexis Leone (4:56.31) and junior Katherine Soule (4:57.06) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, after clocking season-best times in the 1,500.
Five Bluejay women ran in the 3,000 meters for the first time this spring. Sophomore Taylor Rorick crossed the tape in 10:22.90 to place second while running the seventh-fastest outdoor time in program history. Senior Molly Rogers (10:46.08) and Scarlett Pearlman (10:53.25) also finished in the top 10.
Junior Alexis Huddin (2:18.80), freshman Anna Bridges (2:20.77) and sophomore Sophia Valentine (2:23.96) finished 13th, 14th and 15th in the 800, with Bridges owning a season-best time.
Players Mentioned
Creighton Cross Country's Matthew Fayers Media Availability - 9/3/25
Wednesday, September 03
Creighton Cross Country Media Availability - 8/27/25
Wednesday, August 27
Creighton Media Availability - 8/20/25
Thursday, August 21
Creighton Javelin thrower Jacob Ludwick - NCAA First Round (5/28/25)
Wednesday, May 28