EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville cross country teams will host the annual UE Invitational on Saturday morning at Angel Mounds Cross Country Course in Evansville. The men's 8-K event will kick-off the meet at 10 a.m., with the women's 6-K race set to follow, approximately at 10:45 a.m.
In all, six schools will compete in the final regular-season meet for the Purple Aces. The meet field will consist of UE, Milwaukee, Morehead State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Kentucky State and Vincennes University. Saturday's meet will also mark the final regular-season meet for five Purple Aces, including Carson Kline (Terre Haute, Ind./South) and J.J. Pedersen (Milford, Conn.) on the men's side and Emma Boebinger (Frankfort, Ky./Western Hills), Anna Lowry (Taylorville, Ill./Taylorville) and Sam Weldon (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) on the women's side.
"I am excited to see how many P.R. times we can set on Saturday," said UE cross country head coach Don Walters. "That is our main focus right now – getting better every time out, especially on our home course.
"I really hope that our seniors go out with a great race, because they deserve it. This group will be very difficult to replace, and I am extremely proud of who they are and what they have done in their time at UE, not only on the cross country course, but also in the classroom and the community."
Kline will enter his final home meet off of his best 8-K race of the season, as he cut over a minute off of his season-best time at the Live In Lou Cross Country Classic back on October 2. He has served as team captain this year on the men's side. Pedersen, meanwhile, transferred in to UE last season and has been towards the top of the pack for UE the last two seasons. He is currently finishing up his Master's in Athletic Training at UE, while splitting time between UE and Northwestern University in their athletic training department.
"Carson has done a tremendous job as team captain this year, and he has really grown in his time at UE," said Walters. "And, I am really glad that J.J. was able to transfer in and join our program. He has been outstanding to work with."
Boebinger has served as the women's team captain this season, and, like Kline, is coming off of one of her best 5-K meets of the season at the Live In Lou Cross Country Classic. Meanwhile, Lowry will go down as one of the best runners in UE history, as she currently owns the school record in the 5-K event with a time of 16:46.4 set in 2019. She is also a two-time first team all-MVC selection in cross country, and a three-time academic all-conference selection. And, Weldon has finished her UE career strong, pacing the Purple Aces in the season's first meet of the year, and placing second on the team in the last two meets, including posting a career-best 5-K time of 20:05.7 at the Live In Lou Classic.
"All three young women have done a tremendous job this year," said Walters. "Boebinger has been a tremendous team captain this year, and has done a great job of providing leadership to a rather young squad.
"I can't say enough about the job that Anna has done during her UE career, as she has just been an absolute joy to coach. And, I have been really proud of the hard work that Sam has put in during her time at UE, especially this year. She has run the best of her career this year, and you love to see seniors go out on top."
While it will be the final regular-season meet of the year for UE, Evansville will return to the Angel Mounds course one more time in 2021, as the Purple Aces will host the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Friday, November 12.
