Indiana men’s and women’s cross country celebrated Halloween by racing at the Big Ten Conference Championships on Friday in East Lansing, Michigan. The men and women placed 12th and 11th overall, respectively.
The men’s race consisted of 15 teams and featured four from the most recent USTFCCA top 25 rankings, including No.15 Wisconsin, who entered Friday's race as the seven-time defending Big Ten champions. The women’s race, which consisted of all 18 Big Ten teams, showcased six top-25 teams, headlined by No. 4 Oregon, who was also the Big Ten’s defending champion.
The men’s 8K race was the first of the two. Indiana placed 12th with a score of 346. Senior Nolan Satterfield, who finished 78th in last year’s conference championship, was the first Hoosier to finish. His time of 24:20.6, warranted a 43rd place title. Satterfield was the only Hoosier to finish in the top 50.
With a score of 36, Oregon was able to cruise to its first Big Ten men’s title. Eight of Oregon’s runners finished in the top 20, including senior Abdel Laadjel, who won the men’s race with a time of 23:11.6.
Indiana finished 11th in the women’s 6K. Freshman Ava Jarrell placed 45th, just two weeks after her 218th place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Maddison, Wisconsin. She was the fastest Hoosier in the women’s race with a time of 21:02.5. The rest of Indiana’s lineup all finished 64th or lower, earning the Hoosiers a final score of 314.
Oregon swept the day, also claiming the Big Ten title in the women’s race to secure back-to-back championships. Six Ducks finished in the top 10, including freshman Diana Cherotich, junior Juliet Cherubet and senior Silan Ayyildiz, who finished first, second and third, respectively.
Indiana cross country will attempt to keep its season alive at the Great Lakes Regional Championships in Evansville, Indiana on Nov.14. The top two teams in each race will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.
