CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Eastern Kentucky cross country teams ran at the XC 23 Invitational at Panorama Farms for the second consecutive year, where the men finished in fifth place with 136 points while the women had 303 points leading to a 13^th place finish. Eight men clocked a personal-best 8K time on Saturday.
 
"We took another step forward today with both our men and women. Now, we have a couple of weeks to get ready for the ASUN Conference Championships where we hope to be competitive," said head coach Cory Erdmann.
 
The EKU men were led by senior Enock Kipchumba in the 8K race finishing in 14^th place out of 184 runners with a personal-best time of 23:35.60. Senior Hakim Abouzouhir posted a career-best time of 23:54.10 while graduate student Joan Tapias finished in 27^th place with a personal-best time of 23:54.40. Sophomore Nicodemus Rotich ran a career-best time of 24:02.20 finishing in 35^th place and sophomore Griffin Staude finished in 39^th place with a personal-best time of 24:05.20. Senior Keeton Thornsberry finished in 42^nd place with a career-best time of 24:07.50 while senior Nikodem Dworczak claimed 52^nd place clocking a personal-best time of 24:18.90. Senior Jackson Siddall also posted a career-best time of 24:30.00 finishing in 71^st place. Junior Alex Leshan ran an 8K time of 24:38.00 finishing in 75^th place while senior Pedro Garcia-Palencia did not finish the race.
 
Graduate student Jone Zabaleta-Larranaga led the Colonels with a 5K time of 16:51.60 finishing in seventh place out of 173 competitors. Senior Grace Kilroy ran a time of 17:41.80 for 42^nd place while senior Anouk van Gils claimed 77^th place with a time of 18:12.80. Senior Katy Chapman (18:35.20) and freshman Irene Rubio Miralles (18:49.90) rounded out the scoring for the Maroon and White finishing in 101^st place and 116^th place, respectively. Graduate student Saskia Pingpank clocked a time of 18:54.20 while freshman Tilda Knauer posted a 5K time of 19:13.40 in her first career collegiate race. Graduate student Alicia Recio ran a time of 21:19.90.
 
Wake Forest won the event for the men with 47 points while the Virginia women won with 32 points. Charlotte's Nickolas Scudder won the men's 8K race (23:00.20) while Kentucky's Perri Bockrath won the women's 5K race (16:23.10).

The four teams that beat the EKU men in the 8K race are all ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll. The men beat regional foes ranked ahead of the Colonels such as Kentucky and Virginia Tech. They also beat other teams ranked ahead of the Maroon and White such as Ole Miss and Cal Poly without their two All-Americans in outdoor track last season, Ahmed Jaziri and Ahmed Kadri.
 
After an off weekend, the Colonels will compete in the ASUN Cross Country Championships on Oct. 29 in Huntsville, Ala.
 
EKU Men's Individual Results – 8K
14 Enock Kipchumba - 23:35.60
26 Hakim Abouzouhir - 23:54.10
27 Joan Tapias - 23:54.40
35 Nicodemus Rotich - 24:02.20
39 Griffin Staude - 24:05.20
42 Keeton Thornsberry - 24:07.50
52 Nikodem Dworczak - 24:18.90
71 Jackson Siddall - 24:30.00
75 Alex Leshan - 24:38.00
Pedro Garcia-Palencia – DNF
 
EKU Women's Individual Results – 5K
7 Jone Zabaleta-Larranaga - 16:51.60
42 Grace Kilroy - 17:41.80
77 Anouk van Gils - 18:12.80
101 Katy Chapman - 18:35.20
116 Irene Rubio Miralles - 18:49.90
122 Saskia Pingpank - 18:54.20
137 Tilda Knauer - 19:13.40
169 Alicia Recio - 21:19.90