Cross country teams compete at Big Tens

The men's cross country team took second place with 81 points in the Big Ten championships behind Wisconsin's 45 points Sunday in Madison, Wis. Penn State finished third with 82 points.\nIn the 8K race, IU senior Aaron Gillen placed third with a time of 24:11, only .03 seconds slower than runner-up Jared Cordes of Wisconsin. Jason Vanderhoof of Wisconsin won the race in a time of 24:01.\nSophomore Chad Andrews was the second-highest finisher for the Hoosiers, as he placed 11th with a time of 24:39. Sophomore Chris Powers placed 17th in 24:51 while freshman Bart Phariss finished 20th (24:55) and senior Chris Ekman took 30th (25:09). \nThe No. 6 Badgers placed five runners in the top 20 to win their 35th conference title.\nThe women's cross country team took seventh place in the conference, as No. 3 Wisconsin won its sixth consecutive and 15th overall Big Ten with 34 points to runner-up Michigan's 89 points. No conference team other than the Badgers has won more than three titles.\nSophomore Allyson Hammond was the highest finisher for the Hoosiers in the women's 5K race with her fifth-place finish in 17:32. Erica Palmer of Wisconsin, the defending NCAA champion, won the race in 16:44.\nBehind Hammond, sophomore Amanda Bell (32nd) and freshman Lauren Weddell (33rd) were the fastest finishers for IU. Junior Stephanie Magley placed 40th in 18:19 and junior Erin Womble took 41st in 18:21.\nAt the 18:48 mark, freshmen Audrey Giesler and Heidi Crowley finished together for 53rd and 54th places, respectively. Sophomore Whitney Bevins placed 59th and senior Courtney Bell finished 67th.