Vincennes Cross Country continues to trend upward after John McNichols Invitational

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams continue to show improvement after competing in the John McNichols Invitational hosted by Indiana State University at the LaVern Gibson Course Saturday morning. The VU men’s team was led by freshman Mathew Keitany (Kenya) who led the Trailblazers again with a time of 27:16.6. Freshman Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) and sophomore Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) followed closely behind with Stanford crossing the line at 27:30.5 and Momodu finishing at 27:37.0.

September 17, 2022

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams continue to show improvement after competing in the John McNichols Invitational hosted by Indiana State University at the LaVern Gibson Course Saturday morning.

The VU men's team was led by freshman Mathew Keitany (Kenya) who led the Trailblazers again with a time of 27:16.6.

Freshman Isaac Stanford (Flora, Ill.) and sophomore Ernest Momodu (Indianapolis, Ind.) followed closely behind with Stanford crossing the line at 27:30.5 and Momodu finishing at 27:37.0.

Sophomore Reed Lawless (Kouts, Ind.) took the fourth spot for Vincennes at 28:37.5 and freshman Sol O'Blenis (Amboy, Ind.) finished fifth at 29:37.9.

Sophomores Trenton Faulkner (Wheatland, Ind.) and Ian Boit (Kimilili, Kenya) were the next VU runners across the line with Faulkner finishing at 30:05.8 and Boit at 30:07.7.

Freshmen Matthew Gray (Washington, Ind.), Elijah McCartney (Darlington, Ind.), Griffin Worzella (Martinsville, Ind.) and Brayden Green (Sumner, Ill.) finished strong with Gray ending at 30:21.2, McCartney at 30:48.0, Worzella at 31:56.0 and Green at 32:12.1.

Sophomore Kyle Baugh (Portage, Ind.) narrowly edged out freshman Connor Roberson (Delphi, Ind.) to round out the VU runners with Baugh finishing with a time of 34:33.4 and Roberson ending at 33:33.6.

Vincennes as a team placed 16th out of 19 teams, ahead of four-year programs Franklin, Evansville and Fontbonne.

VU was the only two-year program running Saturday morning, racing on a tough course against several NCAA Division I four-year programs.

"It was a good meet for the men and the women's teams," VU Assistant Cross Country and Track and Field Coach Tyler Steigenga said. "Most of the times were slower due to a much more challenging course but everyone took a step forward from two weeks ago."

"We had the same one, two and three finishers as last meet, but today we had a much better fourth runner as Reed stepped up and ran closer to what he is capable of," Steigenga added. "We are still waiting for someone to step up as a solid fifth runner, but hopefully that will happen in two weeks at Louisville."

The VU women's team had another strong showing Saturday morning as well, led out of the gate by sophomore Daisie Kinnett (Wheatland, Ind.) who finished at 20:39.3.

Freshman Ada Peterman (Clay, Ill.) and sophomore Brittany Page (Freelandville, Ind.) were the next VU runners to finish, with Peterman ending at 21:51.1 and Page finishing with a time of 21:58.6.

Sophomore Hope Laughlin (Olney, Ill.) placed fourth for VU ending at 22:32.9 and freshman Makenna Pruett (Montgomery, Ind.) rounded out the VU runners with a time of 25:24.2.

The Trailblazers' women's team finished 15th out of 18 teams, ahead of four-year programs Oakland City, Evansville and Rose-Hulman.

"Daisie did a great job leading the women's team again," Steigenga said. "Ada and Brittany worked together for most of the race and Hope looked better than two weeks ago after dealing with some nagging injuries. Makenna also ran a very tough race after being sick earlier this week."

Vincennes will look to continue to improve in two weeks when VU travels to Louisville, Ky. to take part in the Live in Lou Classic Saturday, Oct. 1.

"Everyone is trending in the right direction," Steigenga said. "I'm excited for some big breakthrough races in two weeks."

MEN'S RESULTS

TEAM RESULTS

VINCENNES (16) – 492 points

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Mathew Keitany (87) – 27:16.6

Isaac Stanford (92) – 27:30.5

Ernest Momodu (94) – 27:37.0

Reed Lawless (105) – 28:37.5

Sol O'Blenis (114) – 29:37.9

Trenton Faulkner (117) – 30:05.8