Top-Ranked Women Win Joe Piane Invite, Men Place Second

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In a cross country showdown between a pair of top-five programs, top-ranked Colorado and third-rated New Mexico, it was the Buffaloes who took home the victory, besting the Lobos by four points (47-51) at the Joe Piane Invitational on Friday.

The Buffs and Lobos each placed four athletes in the top-10 of the 5-kilometer race and were the only two teams in the field of 20 to score less than 100 points. The third place finisher, No. 12 NC State, tallied 118 points, while No. 9 Arkansas took fourth with 171 points.

On the men's side, the fourth-ranked Colorado men's team placed second in the 5-mile blue race with 101 points. Southern Utah, which came into the meet ranked 13th, won with 72 points. Air Force was third overall with 154 points.

WOMEN'S RACE: The women's race was extremely close between the Buffs and the Lobos. New Mexico took the top two spots with Ednah Kurgat (16:01.8) winning the race and Alice Wright (16:12.0) placing second. CU junior Dani Jones was third overall, finishing in 16:12.8, just behind Wright. UMN had another pair of top-10 finishers placing sixth and eighth, but the Buffs took seventh (Makena Morley), ninth (Kaitlyn Benner) and 10th (Sage Hurta).

The race came down to the all-important fifth runner. Redshirt freshman Madie Boreman was that for the Buffs, finishing 18th overall to round out CU's score. The Lobos fifth runner came in 34th overall, finishing after CU's sixth harrier, Brianna Schwarz, who was 22nd overall.

Colorado also ran two other in the race: Tabor Scholl (42nd) and Melanie Nun (50th).

MEN'S RACE: Colorado placed two in the top-10 and three in the top-20 of the men's race. Sophomore Joe Klecker led the team with a fourth-place finish, crossing the line in 23:33.7 after a trio of Alabama runners.

Redshirt freshman Eduardo Herrera was next for CU, finishing 10th overall in just his second uniformed race. John Dressel was the third scorer for the Buffs, placing 20th overall in 24:11.5. Shortly behind Dressel was Ryan Forsyth, finishing 24th overall. CU's final scorer was Zach Perrin, who placed 43rd.

The Buffs other racers were Adam Peterman (49th), Ethan Gonzales (51st), Christian Martin (72nd) and Sal Capetillo (108th).

UP NEXT: The weekend of racing has just started for the Buffs as CU will host the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Saturday, Sept. 30, at Buffalo Ranch Cross Country Course on CU's South Campus. Races are at 9 and 9:45 a.m. For more details, head to CUBuffs.com.

QUOTES:
Head Coach Mark Wetmore
Thoughts on the women's team performance:
"We knew New Mexico was very good and they have been a little under-ranked throughout the season. They have some new personal and I think the voters didn't know or weren't aware of the new personnel. We expected them to be very good today and I'm happy to nip them by a couple of points. We were breaking out Madie Boreman in a Colorado uniform for the first time ever, and some other people missed the outdoor season, so we are a little bit rusty. Anyway, we were happy with the performance."

Thoughts on the men's performance:
"The men didn't have a good day. They have to have an easy day tomorrow, get back to work, and stare at the results to recognize they didn't run well. Also, maybe I didn't have them correctly prepared, but we have a month to go (before postseason starts)."

Thoughts on making the trip to South Bend:
"Well, it was necessary and the team that beat us is from our region, so that will not really hurt us. I haven't been able to look and see what teams from other regions did, but I am sure it (the Joe Piane Invitational) will turn out to be useful."

2017 Joe Piane Invitational
South Bend, Ind. (Burke Golf Course)

Women's Race
Team Results
1. Colorado 47; 2. New Mexico 51; 3. NC State 118; 4. Arkansas 171; 5. Utah 190; 6. Air Force 233; 7. California 238; 8. Ohio State 266; 9. Eastern Michigan 269; 10. Baylor 278; 11. Florida State 296; 12. Texas 300; 13. Notre Dame 309; 14. Washington State 356; 15. Pittsburgh 402; 16. UTEP 409; 17. Weber State 415; 18. Alabama 438; 19. Texas Christian 482; 20. Tulane 491.

Individual Results (Top 10 Individuals)
1. Ednah Kurgat, UNM, 16:01.8; 2. Alice Wright, UNM, 16:12.0; 3. Dani Jones, CU, 16:12.8; 4. Grayson Murphy, Utah, 16:17.9; 5. Bethan Knights, Cal, 16:18.6; 6. Weini Kelati, UNM, 16:23.9; 7. Makena Morley, CU, 16:30.0; 8. Charlotte Prouse, UNM, 16:33.0; 9. Kaitlyn Benner, CU, 16:35.4; 10. Sage Hurta, CU, 16:35.6.

Individual Results (CU Athletes Only)
18. Madie Boreman, 16:48.1; 22. Brianna Schwartz, 16:49.9; 42. Tabor Scholl, 17:11.9; 50. Melanie Nun, 17:19.9

Men's Race
Team Results
1. Southern Utah 72; 2. Colorado 101; 3. Air Force 154; 4. Michigan 156; 5. Eastern Kentucky 168; 6. Texas 181; 7. California 184; 8. Alabama 200; 9. NC State 208; 10. New Mexico 279; 11. Washington State 284; 12. Eastern Michigan 326; 13. Weber State 350; 14. Iowa 374; 15. Butler 381; 16. Florida State 391; 17. Notre Dame 433; 18. Pittsburgh 467; 19. Baylor 470; 20. Wichita State 509; 21. Ohio State 597.

Individual Results (Top 10 Individuals)
1. Gilbert Kigen, Alabama, 23:23.7; 2. Vincent Kiprop, Alabama, 23:24.2; 3. Alfred Chelanga, Alabama, 23:26.9; 4. Joe Klecker, CU, 23:33.7; 5. Mike Tate, Southern Utah, 23:51.8; 6. Kasey Knevelbaard, Southern Utah, 23:58.5; 7. Alexander Palm, New Mexico, 23:58.8; 8. Erick Rotich, Eastern Kentucky, 23:59.2; 9. Andrew Johnston, Air Force, 23:59.9; 10. Eduardo Herrera, CU, 24:00.3.

Individual Results (CU Athletes Only)
20. John Dressel, 24:11.5; 24. Ryan Forsytht, 24:13.2; 43. Zach Perrin, 24:31.3; 49. Adam Peterman, 24:37.8; Ethan Gonzales, 24:39.0; 72. Christian Martin, 24:54.3; 108. Sal Capetillo, 25:16.9.

Top-Ranked Women Win Joe Piane Invite, Men Place Second

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Players Mentioned

Kaitlyn Benner

Madie Boreman

Sal Capetillo

John Dressel

Ryan Forsyth

Ethan Gonzales

Eduardo Herrera

Sage Hurta

Dani Jones

Joe Klecker

Christian Martin

Makena Morley

Melanie Nun

Zach Perrin

Adam Peterman

Tabor Scholl

Brianna Schwartz