HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—University of Evansville sophomore Greg Pulscher (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) continued his strong start to his second season at UE on Saturday, as Pulscher ran away from the field at the Fleet Feet Sports/Earl Jacoby Memorial in Huntsville, Alabama to take home the individual title and help lead the Purple Aces to a pair of second-place team finishes.

Pulscher posted an 8-K time of 26:45.1 on a hot and humid day in Huntsville Saturday to outdistance the field by nearly 30 seconds en route to his first individual title as a Purple Ace.  Fellow sophomores Brian Joyce (6th, 27:51.1) and Ethan Merkel (10th, 28:10.1) and freshman Ryan Witters (15th, 28:19.2) also placed in the Top 15 overall to help power the Purple Aces to a second-place finish on the men’s side.  UE finished just 10 points shy of overall team champion Alabama-Huntsville.

On the women’s side, senior Andrea Sonnenschein (Poy Sippi, Wis./Berlin) finished fourth in the 123-runner 5-K event in a time of 19:12.9 to help power the UE women to a second-place finish behind nationally-ranked Alabama-Huntsville.  Fellow senior Andrea Hoy (7th, 20:02.8) and sophomores Arrena Svoboda (14th, 20:38.1) and Courtney Heller (15th, 20:40.1) also posted Top 15 individual finishes for UE on Saturday.

“I am very pleased with how both teams ran today,” said UE head coach Don Walters.  “Today was not an ideal day to run, as it was very hot and humid out there, but both teams went out and ran like teams and did a good job of picking up one another.

“The biggest thing that I was impressed about was that down the stretch, not a single one of our runners got passed.  In fact, we were the ones doing the passing, and when you are battling for an overall title in a race, every spot counts.

“Greg ran an outstanding race today.  He led early on, got passed, but was able to bounce right back, take the lead, and then cruise to victory.  It was an awesome performance and I’m really proud of the way he ran today.”

It marks the second week in a row in which both the UE men and women have finished second overall in a race, as the Purple Aces also placed second at last weekend’s Mid-America Opener.  Evansville will return to the cross country course next on Friday afternoon, as the Purple Aces will take part in the annual Indiana Intercollegiate Championships in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Overall Team Results From Saturday’s Fleet Feet Sports/Earl Jacoby Memorial

Men:  1.) Alabama-Huntsville (43 points), 2.) EVANSVILLE (53 points), 3.) Columbus State (73 points), 4.) Lincoln Memorial (106 points), 5.) Alabama State (113 points), 6.) Morehouse College (120 points), 7.) Sewanee (202 points), 8.) North Georgia (232 points), 9.) North Alabama (246 points), 10.) Northwest Shoals CC (276 points), 11.) South. Union St. CC (349 points)

Women:  1.) Alabama-Huntsville (19 points), 2.) EVANSVILLE (61 points), 3.) Columbus State (95 points), 4.) Augusta State (112 points), 5.) North Alabama (148 points), 6.) Albany State (174 points), 7.) Lincoln Memorial (205 points), 8.) Sewanee (233 points), 9.) Alabama State (238 points), 10.) Montevallo (258 points), 11.) North Georgia (269 points), 12.) Bevill State (349 points), 13.) Gadsden State CC (383 points), 14.) Alabama A&M (400 points), 15.) South. Union St. CC (463 points), 16.) Miles College (479 points)

Individual UE Results From Saturday’s Fleet Feet Sports/Earl Jacoby Memorial

Men (out of 95 runners, all times for 8-K)
1.  Greg Pulscher     26:45.1
6.  Brian Joyce       27:51.1
10. Ethan Merkel      28:10.1
15. Ryan Witters      28:19.2
21. Brian Denny       28:35.6
29. Steven Matthews   28:54.5
33. Adam Gilbert      28:59.2
40. Michael Romine    29:18.3
45. Max Cordier       29:27.6
49. Ryan Grieco       29:50.7
52. Collin Jamieson   30:11.8
54. Michael Wieser    30:26.6
60. Chris Atkins      31:19.3
61. Andrew Kunz       31:19.7
62. Nicholas Tyree    31:31.1
64. Matthew Kaufman   31:39.0
77. Ben Kennard       33:02.6
80. Kevin Todd        33:41.9
81. Zachary Gromer    33:58.1

Women (out of 123 runners, all times for 5-K)
4.  Andrea Sonnenschein  19:12.9
7.  Andrea Hoy           20:02.8
14. Arrena Svoboda       20:38.1
15. Courtney Heller      20:40.1
21. Jaclyn Kern          20:54.8
22. Melissa Truex        20:55.4
30. Franny Enzler        21:24.6
31. Jaclyn Dippel        21:26.7
47. Megan Bowlds         22:03.5
68. Christina Sherrill   23:17.3
69. Katie Bowlds         23:18.2
87. Meredith Turner      25:04.8
88. Kimberly Libertino   25:08.3
101. Katelyn Sandy       26:03.6