Men finish 4th, women 9th at cross country conference championships

The weather is getting cooler, which means postseason competition is finally here for the IU men’s and women’s cross country teams. \nDespite a temperature of 49 degrees at race time, the men finished a sizzling fourth this weekend at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio.\nIn a bit of a surprise, the team was led individually by freshman Cole Hardacre in 14th place. Hardacre finished one spot better than sophomore Jordan Kyle, who had already posted two wins and led the Hoosiers in every race so far this year. \nIU coach Ron Helmer said he felt good afterward, and praised both Hardacre and Kyle.\n“Cole was second-team All-Big Ten, so he was good,” Helmer said. “Jordan ran at the front for a while, then faded back and came back up to the front, so I was happy with his race.”\nAs a team, IU placed six runners in the top 35, as junior Timothy McLeod, freshman Ben Hubers and juniors Brennon Plotner and Mark Fruin came in behind Hardacre and Kyle at 22nd, 25th, 29th and 35th respectively. \nOn the women’s side, IU placed farther back than its male counterparts, finishing in ninth place. \nHowever, Helmer said the women’s team finished where he thought they would. \n“I expected a ninth- or 10th- place finish,” Helmer said. “(The team) raced with a lot of pride, and we put ourselves in position to do as well as we could.”\nThe team was led by sophomore Sarah Pease, who placed 32nd.\nHelmer said he was proud of Pease’s accomplishments. \n“I felt if she got into the 30s, it would be a great day for her,” Helmer said. “And she ran her best (time) by a lot, as she is a great athlete.”\nAlso of significance were the two points on the line in the AT&T Crimson and Gold Cup, an annual competition between IU and Purdue to see who can win or place better in head-to-head or mutual events in several different sports. The Hoosiers are looking to return the Cup to Bloomington for the third time in four years after the Boilermakers won it last year. \nBy virtue of the men’s team placing higher than 10th-place Purdue, the Hoosiers took a 1.5-1 lead. Purdue did win its first point of the season for its eighth-place finish on the women’s side. IU already took half a point from the volleyball team’s win against Purdue on Oct. 17 in Bloomington. \nIU returns to competition Nov. 10 in Bloomington when the teams host the Great Lakes Regional Championship. The Hoosiers must finish in the top two in this race if they hope to continue their postseason journey and go to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19 in Terre Haute.