CEDAR FALLS, Iowa--University of Evansville senior Andrea Sonnenschein (Poy Sippi, Wis./Berlin) and sophomore Greg Pulscher (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) posted a pair of Top 20 individual finishes on Saturday to lead the Purple Aces at the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Sonnenschein placed 16th overall in the women's 5,000-meter event Saturday with a time of 18:05.46 to post her third career Top 20 finish at the State Farm MVC Championships. Sonnenschein's time in the 5-K ranks as the third-fastest on record at UE, as she now owns each of the top three 5-K times in UE history. Fellow senior Andrea Hoy (Mt. Vernon, Ill./Mt. Vernon Township) backed Sonnenschein's time with a personal-best 5-K time of 18:44.19 to rank second on the team and 31st overall in the 77-competitor field.
Pulscher, meanwhile, finished 20th overall in the men's 8,000-meter race, crossing the finish line in a time of 25:25.01. It ranks as the 22nd-fastest 8-K time on record at UE, and fell just seven seconds off of Pulscher's personal-best mark of 25:18, set at the UE Invitational two weeks ago. Fellow sophomore Ethan Merkel (Dubois, Ind./Northeast Dubois) ran second for UE and 51st overall with a time of 26:52.60, while rookie and Evansville native Ryan Witters (Memorial H.S.) came in right behind Merkel in a time of 26:57.48.
Kellyn Johnson of Wichita State took home the individual title on the women's side, finishing in a time of 16:59.53 to pace the Shockers to the overall team title. On the men's side, Southern Illinois won the overall team title behind a trio of runners who finished in the top three, led by Jeff Schirmer's time of 24:31.47 as the individual champion. Evansville finished ninth on the men's side and 10th on the women's, just nine points shy of Creighton for ninth place.
The Purple Aces will conclude the 2007 cross country season in two weeks at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships in Bloomington, Indiana.
INDIVIDUAL UE RESULTS FROM THE 2007 STATE FARM MVC CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN (out of 70 runners, all times for 8-K)
20. Greg Pulscher 25:25.01
51. Ethan Merkel 26:52.60
52. Ryan Witters 26:57.48
55. Brian Denny 27:09.91
57. Brian Joyce 27:11.54
62. Steven Matthews 27:47.78
64. Adam Gilbert 27:51.25
65. Andrew Kunz 27:56.99
WOMEN?(out of 77 runners, all times for 5-K)
16. Andrea Sonnenschein 18:05.46
31. Andrea Hoy 18:44.19
56. Arrena Svoboda 19:27.56
58. Melissa Truex 19:29.82
65. Courtney Heller 19:52.74
69. Franny Enzler 20:08.07
74. Megan Bowlds 20:28.78
75. Jaclyn Dippel 20:44.56
