NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Anna Lowry and Stanley Chepchieng were the top performers as the University of Evansville cross country teams opened up the 2017 season on Saturday morning at the Belmont Opener in Nasvhille, Tennessee.

As a team, the women took fourth place out of five NCAA Division I teams, while the men finished fifth in the five team DI field.
 
A freshman from Taylorville, Ill., Lowry led the way for the Aces women's team, finishing the 5k course in a time of 19:54.59 to take 32nd among 52 D-I runners.
 
Just a spot behind Lowry in the final running order was junior Sienna Crews.  The Lincoln City, Ind. native completed the course in 20:32.43 to finish 39th among DI runners.  Third on the squad was fellow junior Ashton Bosler.  Her time of 20:49.87 put her 44th in the DI field.

 A pair of freshman  in Izzy Dawson and Lauren Meyer rounded out the top five for the women.  Dawson finished 45th with a time of 20:59.64, while Meyer completed the 5k in 21:13.63 for 46th place finish.
 
Rounding out the Aces' runners, Lexi Sutherland (22:41.66) finished 49th, followed by Sarah Poltrack (22:58.27) in 50th, while Hayley Elliot finished 51st with a time of 23:45.21.

Vanderbilt captured the women's team victory, followed by Lipscomb in second and Belmont in third. The Aces edged Austin Peay for fourth with just a single point separating UE and the Governors.
 
For the Aces men's squad, Stanley Chepchieng paced the UE contingent with a 22nd-place finish among DI runners in a time of 16:23.17. The sophomore's time was the fifth-fastest for an Ace at Percy Warner Park in five appearances at the Belmont Opener.
 
Following Chepchieng was newcomer Ethan Price who captured a 33rd-place finish in the 48-runner DI field with a time of 16:39.77. Just six seconds behind Price was fellow freshman Tyler Frields-Reifsteck with a 35th-palce finish in a time of 16:45.36.
 
Sophomore Ricky Hendrix was fourth for the Aces squad.  Hendrix finished in 37th in a time of 16:49.24, while freshman Dawson Hood rounded out the top five for Evansville with a 41st-place finish in a time of 17:06.92.
 
Rounding out the Aces' contingent, sophomore Aaron Cochran (17:27.25) finished 43rd and freshman Kalen Ochs (17:35.64) came home in 45th. Freshman Timmy Miller finished the 5k course in 18:29.44, finishing in 47th, while sophomore Tucker Dawson crossed the finish line less than a second later in 48th in a time of 18:30.22.

With five runners among the top eight finishers, Belmont captured the team victory in the men's 5k.
 
Both men's and women's teams return to action on September 9 in Terre Haute, Ind. for the John McNichols Invitational hosted by Indiana State.
 

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