Men's Results  -  Women's Results

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Senior Kelby Jenkins opened up the 2013 season in the same fashion as 2012 as her time of 14:49.75 was good enough for the top spot in the UE Mid-America Opener on Saturday at the UE Cross Country Course.
 
Jenkins paced herself throughout much of the race before making her move late as she moved past Benadate Cheruiyot and Michele Molodynia of Louisville in the late going to win by 11 seconds.  It marked her second-straight win in the event and third in a row at the course.  For Molodynia, it was her second runner-up finish in a row to Jenkins.
 
Both the men's and women's squads finished in third place overall in the 6K and 4K races, respectively. 
 
"It was hot and humid on both sides.  Our guys started out a little too hard, but in the end I am proud of the effort by both of our teams, especially with one less week of practice than normal," head coach Don Walters said.  "Both of our teams will tighten up a little bit and we should be in good shape for next week."
 
"Kelby (Jenkins) has put in a ton of work over the summer with a main goal in mind – going to the National Championship," Walters continued.  "She raced her own race today and it paid off."
 
On the men's side, it was Josh Genet leading the team with a 12^th place finish.  He ran a time of 19:37.93.  Newcomer Benjamin Woolems was the second UE runner to cross the stripe, coming in 15^th with a time of 20:06.86 in his first start.  Fellow newcomer Ross Frondorf took 17^th while Jon Ashby came home in 18^th.
 
Kyle Wilson posted a 21^st in his first start (21:28.38) while Andrew Barrett was a spot behind.  Indiana State, who was paced by John Mascari, took top honors in the event.  The Sycamores had five of the top nine finishers in the race and topped Louisville by three points (26-29).  Stacey Eden and Tyler Byrne, both of the Cardinals, rounded out the top three.
 
After running a 14:40 last season, Jenkins came close to that mark on Saturday, running a race-winning time of 14:49.75.  Molodynia came in with a 15:00.22 to take second.
 
Maria Lynn, who came on strong last season, finished in 14^th place with a 16:29.09, just short of last year's pace of 16:20.  Laurel Wolfe was two sports behind Lynn with a 16:39.87.  Kirsten Perrey took 20^th place while Jacqueline Carlson took 22^nd.
 
Despite the heat, both teams ran solid races, giving Coach Walters and his squads confidence heading into next week's EIU Open.  Set to begin at 5:30 p.m., the event will take place in Charleston, Ill.