VU Cross Country trending in the right direction after final regular season meet

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 20-ranked Vincennes University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams bounced back after a tough meet two weeks ago in Louisville with a solid performance Friday morning at the Angel Mounds Invitational hosted by the University of Evansville.

The day began with the women's race, which was one kilometer longer than the usual cross country races on VU's schedule this season, running a 6k race Friday morning.

The Trailblazers women's team was led by freshman Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) who put together a really good race in front of her hometown crowd.

Fuller finished with a time of 25:45.2, good for 121st overall out of 165 runners Friday.

Sophomore Ada Peterman (Clay City, Ill.) was close behind Fuller, coming in just under 26 minutes at 25:58.4 and taking 126th overall.

Freshmen Lani Baskett (Sebree, Ky.) and Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) were the next VU runners across the line, with Baskett ending her race at 26:05.2 and Self finishing with a time of 26:40.6.

Freshmen Madeline Esslinger (Bloomington, Ind.) and Grayson Haynes (Sebree, Ky.) rounded out the VU women's race with Esslinger posting a time of 29:01.8 and Haynes crossing the line at 30:16.5.

The VU women's team found themselves again competing in a race where they were the only team from a two-year school and finished 15th overall as a team.

"We bounced back well after a rough meet at Louisville," VU Head Cross Country Coach Tyler Steigenga said. "The women went up in distance to run their only 6k of the year today. Four of them ran faster than their 5k from Louisville last meet and the other two were just off."

"Almost everyone raced better today," Steigenga added. "Instead of falling off after the first mile, most of them were able to keep their pace going for longer in the race. They're learning how they need to race in order to be successful."

The morning concluded in Evansville with the men's 8k race, where the VU men's team was led in a big way by freshman Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) who posted a time of 26:28.0 and finished 45th overall out of 167 runners.

Freshman Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) was the next Trailblazer across the finish line, ending with a time of 27:36.4 and taking 87th place overall.

Freshman Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) and sophomore Griffin Worzella (Martinsville, Ind.) were the next VU finishers, with Spence ending with a time of 28:17.2 and Worzella crossing the line at 29:19.9.

Freshman John Hackney (Evansville, Ind.) was the fifth VU runner to come away with a sub-30 minute time, crossing the line at 29:50.4 on his hometown course.

Sophomores Matthew Gray (Washington, Ind.) and Brayden Green (Sumner, Ill.) rounded out the VU day with Gray crossing the line at 30:56.2 and Green ending his race with a time of 33:44.9.

The VU men's team, like the women's team, was the only two-year program competing Friday morning and finished 13th overall out of 19 teams ahead of NCAA Division I Austin Peay.

"We were without three runners on the men's side today, so we only raced seven," Steigenga said. "We had some good performances, with Cody, Caden and John all getting PRs."

The VU Cross Country teams will look to get back to full strength as the Trailblazers begin preparations for postseason competition, beginning with the NJCAA Region 24 Championships in Charleston, Ill. Thursday, Oct. 26.

Following the Region meet, Vincennes will then head to Huntsville, Ala. for the NJCAA Division I National Championships Saturday, Nov. 11 and the NJCAA Half-Marathon Championships Tuesday, Nov. 14.

"We will have one more opportunity to fine tune things before Nationals," Steigenga said. "Where we hope to have all our runners on the starting line."

MEET RESULTS

WOMEN'S RESULTS

VINCENNES (15) – 451

Adi Fuller (121) – 25:45.2

Ada Peterman (126) – 25:58.4

Lani Baskett (129) – 26:05.2

Jasmyn Self (133) – 26:40.6

Madeline Esslinger (155) – 29:01.8

Grayson Haynes (161) – 30:16.5

MEN'S RESULTS

VINCENNES (13) – 368

Cody Noel (45) – 26:28.0

Caden Hostetler (87) – 27:36.4

Tanner Spence (109) – 28:17.2

Griffin Worzella (129) – 29:19.9

John Hackney (135) – 29:50.4

Matthew Gray (147) – 30:56.2

Brayden Green (157)  33:44.9