EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men's and women's cross country teams open their seasons on Saturday as the Purple Aces travel to Nashville, Tennessee for the Belmont Opener.
 
Set to take place at Percy Warner Park, the women begin with a 9 a.m. race with the men taking the course at 9:15 a.m. Both races at the Belmont Opener will be 5k's.
 
Other schools running include: Austin Peay, Belmont, Lipscomb, Rhodes, Trevecca Nazarene, and Vanderbilt.
 
Evansville's men are led by sophomores Stanley Chepchieng and Ricky Hendrix who each made names for themselves in their first collegiate seasons in 2016. Both Chepchieng and Hendrix will be competing in their first collegiate 5k. In a four-mile race at the Austin Peay Invitational in 2016, Hendrix finished in 22:20 for a sixth-place finish, while Chepchieng crossed the finish line in 20th with a time of 23:06.
 
Sienna Crews continued her strong career in the white and purple as a sophomore.  Crews earned her second victory of her career with a PR of 18:10 in the 5k at the Austin Peay Invitational. Sophomore Hannah Welsh was impressive in her freshman campaign in 2016 as the Jasper, Ind. native ran a PR of 18:19 in the 5k at the Austin Peay Invitational.

The Aces have opened their seasons at the Belmont Opener five times with the most recent trip coming in 2014.
 

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