COOKEVILLE, Tenn.--Paced by first and second place individual finishes by sophomore Greg Pulscher (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and senior Andrea Sonnenschein (Poy Sippi, Wis./Berlin), the University of Evansville cross country teams took home both the men’s and women’s team titles at the Tennessee Tech Invitational in Cookeville, Tennessee.
Pulscher led the UE men to victory by finishing just five seconds off of the course record in Cookeville, as he crossed the finish line first in a time of 27:16.00, over 45 seconds faster than any other competitor on the course. For Pulscher, it marks his second individual title of the fall season, as he also took home the individual title at the Earl Jacoby Memorial in early September.
On the men’s side, the Purple Aces placed five runners in the Top 10 individually, as freshman Ryan Witters (28:14.48, 3rd), sophomores Brian Joyce (28:24.38, 5th) and Steven Matthews (28:27.28, 6th), and rookies Adam Gilbert (28:30.03, 7th) and Brian Denny (28:47.81, 9th) all finished within 33 seconds of one another. UE knocked off the host Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 25-35, to win the team title.
“Our men did a good job of closing the gap between our second place runner and our fifth place runner, as 16 seconds separated the four runners,” said UE head coach Don Walters. “If we can run in a pack like that, and continue to trim the deficit between our lead runner and our second runner, we have the chance to be successful as a team.”
On the women’s side, Sonnenschein posted her fifth Top 10 finish of the 2007 season by placing second in the women’s 5-K race in a time of 18:40.19. Like the men, the UE women placed six runners in the Top 10 to knock off Tennessee Tech by nine points, 27-36, to win the overall team title. Seniors Andrea Hoy (19:58.08, 4th) and Jaclyn Kern (20:51.42, 9th), sophomores Arrena Svoboda (20:22.05, 6th) and Courtney Heller (20:34.63, 7th), and freshman Melissa Truex (20:39.43, 8th) all posted Top 10 individual finishes to power the UE effort.
“The women have really done a good job of running as a team this season, and I’m glad that they were able to be rewarded with a team championship this year,” said Walters. “Andrea Sonnenschein has done a good job of getting out early as our lead runner, and then our second through fifth place finishers have done a good job running as a team and helping each other out.”
The Purple Aces have now won six team titles in Don Walters’ eight years as head coach. Evansville will return to action next on Saturday, October 13 as the Purple Aces will host the annual UE Invitational at the UE Cross Country Course in Evansville.
Team Results From The 2007 Tennessee Tech Invitational
MEN: 1.) EVANSVILLE--25 pts. 2.)?Tennessee Tech--35 pts. 3.) Tennessee State--133 pts. 4.) Maryville--165 pts. 5.) X-Tech--NTS
WOMEN: 1.)? EVANSVILLE--27 pts. 2.)?Tennessee Tech--36 pts. 3.) Tennessee State--96 pts. 4.) Maryville--120 pts. 5.) Alabama A&M--NTS
Individual UE?Results From The 2007 Tennessee Tech Invitational
MEN (out of 51 runners, all times for 8-K)
1. Greg Pulscher 27:16.00
3. Ryan Witters 28:14.48
5. Brian Joyce 28:24.38
6. Steven Matthews 28:27.28
7. Adam Gilbert 28:30.03
9. Brian Denny 28:47.81
12. Ethan Merkel 29:10.86
13. Collin Jamieson 29:17.89
14. Chris Atkins 29:29.29
17. Max Cordier 29:45.51
19. Michael Romine 29:55.18
24. Michael Wieser 30:25.82
26. Ben Kennard 30:37.12
28. Andrew Kunz 30:49.24
30. Ryan Grieco 31:12.52
31. Gary Cure 31:32.26
32. Kevin Todd 31:45.24
39. Alex Schroeder 32:42.33
48. Zachary Gromer 35:34.23
WOMEN (out of 38 runners, all times for 5-K)
2. Andrea Sonnenschein 18:40.19
4. Andrea Hoy 19:58.08
6. Arrena Svoboda 20:22.05
7. Courtney Heller 20:34.63
8. Melissa Truex 20:39.43
9. Jaclyn Kern 20:51.42
12. Megan Bowlds 21:15.01
14. Franny Enzler 21:25.63
15. Jaclyn Dippel 21:37.25
22. Kimberly Libertino 22:58.32
28. Christina Sherrill 24:25.13
30. Meredith Turner 24:46.15
31. Katie Bowlds 25:12.10
33. Katelyn Sandy 25:19.97
