Men's cross country earns 2nd place at Big Ten Championships

Sophomore Andy Bayer and IU men’s cross country proved how much a long summer and fall of training can pay off Sunday with a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wisc.

Bayer led the men with a second-place finish in 23:41.3. With 250 meters to go, Bayer took the lead over Wisconsin’s Landon Peacock as they raced neck-and-neck to the finish line. Peacock outleaned Bayer to win by just a half-second, but the runner-up finish was the highest result in the meet for a Hoosier since 1992.

Along with Bayer, sophomore Zack Mayhew received All-Big Ten honors with an 11th-place finish.

Juniors Ben Hubers, Andrew Poore and De’Sean Turner rounded out the Hoosiers’ top five, taking 15th, 18th and 29th, respectively.

Mayhew said last season’s fourth-place finish at the Big Tens inspired the team to work harder over the summer and fall this season; consequently, the team has been never been so strong.

“I don’t think our season could go much better than the way it has,” Mayhew said. “We came into this season knowing what we could do, but with a bitter taste in our mouths with the way last year ended.”

The women’s team placed fifth in the Big Ten as senior Sarah Pease led the way with a fifth-place finish. Pease earned a First Team All-Big Ten honor while Chelsea Blanchard finished one spot out of All-Big Ten honors at 15th.