Creighton University Athletics
Friday, September 4
Ashland, Neb. (Olsson Cross Country Course)
7:45 AM
Creighton University
vs
Platte River Rumble "Gold"
Photo by: Prep Running Nerd
Rorick Wins Platte River Rumble; Men/Women Finish Second in Fayers' Debut
9/4/2026 11:56:00 AM | Men's Cross Country / Track, Women's Cross Country / Track
ASHLAND, Neb. -- Senior Taylor Rorick raced to the lead in the final 300 meters to earn the victory at the Platte River Rumble "Gold" race at Olsson Cross Country Course at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb., on Friday morning. Rorick's finish highlighted a big day for the Bluejays as both the men and women finished second in the team standings in the debut under interim head coach Matthew Fayers.
Rorick ran a 5K PR time of 17:41.4 to win the women's race by 0.5 seconds over Kansas State's Emma Baum (17:41.9) and Joyce Kipabut (17:43.9). Rorick trailed Kipabut heading into the final hill just 300 meters from the finish line before passing her, then holding off Baum by half a second to post her first victory at the collegiate level. The Castle Pines, Colo., native became Creighton's first women's athlete to win a cross country race against three or more schools since Emily Martin won the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 29, 2017.
Freshman Tatum Neilson gave Creighton a second runner in the top 10 as the former Bellevue West High School standout finished 10th in 18:37.2.
Sophia Valentine was second after 3,000 meters and finished 11th in 18:38.7, a full 25 seconds better than her time last year when she placed 50th in the same race. Sarah Vaske placed 15th in 19:04.6 and Alexis Leone gave the Jays a fifth runner in the top 17 with a time of 19:15.1.
Kansas State had five of the top six runners and won the women's race with a team score of 20. Creighton (53) placed second, just ahead of Omaha (59) and Indian Hills (120). Iowa Western and Southeast CC also had competitors among the 47 participants to start the women's race.
Creighton's men also finished second with 38 points, just behind Kansas State's 19 and ahead of Iowa Western (83), Indian Hills (106) and Southeast CC (145).
The Bluejays had four men in the top 10 of the men's race, a group led by Tommy Murray, who was racing for the first time since 2024 after redshirting last fall. Murray was fourth in 18:47.9, just 18 seconds behind race winner Max Larson from Kansas State (18:27.2).
Dominic Ricci had a breakthrough performance for the Jays, placing sixth. His time of 18:57.6 saw him shave 48 seconds of his finish at the same race last season, and put him just ahead of teammate Evan Kraus (19:10.6).
Andrew Sauer was 10th in 19:23.7, a vast improvement over his 29th place showing last fall. Immediately behind Sauer was junior Lucas Bossinger (19:25.4), Rhys Cushman (19:40.6) and Matthew Lindgren (19:45.1), while Sam Berlinghof (19:50.4) took 15th place.
The men's race featured 50 entrants on the 6K course, which opened in 2021. Creighton, Omaha and the Omaha Sports Commission hosted the moring's festivities, which were moved to a 7:45 a.m. start to avoid the extreme head being forecast for later in the day.
Creighton returns to the course on Sept. 18 for a meet hosted by Iowa State in Ames, Iowa.
Rorick ran a 5K PR time of 17:41.4 to win the women's race by 0.5 seconds over Kansas State's Emma Baum (17:41.9) and Joyce Kipabut (17:43.9). Rorick trailed Kipabut heading into the final hill just 300 meters from the finish line before passing her, then holding off Baum by half a second to post her first victory at the collegiate level. The Castle Pines, Colo., native became Creighton's first women's athlete to win a cross country race against three or more schools since Emily Martin won the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 29, 2017.
Freshman Tatum Neilson gave Creighton a second runner in the top 10 as the former Bellevue West High School standout finished 10th in 18:37.2.
Sophia Valentine was second after 3,000 meters and finished 11th in 18:38.7, a full 25 seconds better than her time last year when she placed 50th in the same race. Sarah Vaske placed 15th in 19:04.6 and Alexis Leone gave the Jays a fifth runner in the top 17 with a time of 19:15.1.
Kansas State had five of the top six runners and won the women's race with a team score of 20. Creighton (53) placed second, just ahead of Omaha (59) and Indian Hills (120). Iowa Western and Southeast CC also had competitors among the 47 participants to start the women's race.
Creighton's men also finished second with 38 points, just behind Kansas State's 19 and ahead of Iowa Western (83), Indian Hills (106) and Southeast CC (145).
The Bluejays had four men in the top 10 of the men's race, a group led by Tommy Murray, who was racing for the first time since 2024 after redshirting last fall. Murray was fourth in 18:47.9, just 18 seconds behind race winner Max Larson from Kansas State (18:27.2).
Dominic Ricci had a breakthrough performance for the Jays, placing sixth. His time of 18:57.6 saw him shave 48 seconds of his finish at the same race last season, and put him just ahead of teammate Evan Kraus (19:10.6).
Andrew Sauer was 10th in 19:23.7, a vast improvement over his 29th place showing last fall. Immediately behind Sauer was junior Lucas Bossinger (19:25.4), Rhys Cushman (19:40.6) and Matthew Lindgren (19:45.1), while Sam Berlinghof (19:50.4) took 15th place.
The men's race featured 50 entrants on the 6K course, which opened in 2021. Creighton, Omaha and the Omaha Sports Commission hosted the moring's festivities, which were moved to a 7:45 a.m. start to avoid the extreme head being forecast for later in the day.
Creighton returns to the course on Sept. 18 for a meet hosted by Iowa State in Ames, Iowa.
Players Mentioned
/ Men'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
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Men's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
/ Women's Cross Country / Track
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