Hilltoppers Place Three In The Top-10 To Finish Fourth At Louisville

Louisville, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University men's and women's cross country teams traveled to E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park Saturday to participate in the Greater Louisville Classic, hosted by the Louisville Sports Commission.

Purdue won the men's 8,000-meter gold race with 113 points, Louisville was second at 150, Albany was third at 156, followed by WKU with 168 points.

The only school in the 29-team field to place multiple runners in the top-10, the Hilltoppers managed to score three in the single digits to finish fourth overall. Deus Rwaheru led the way with a fourth-place individual finish, navigating the 8,000-meter course in 24:00.35. David Mokone and Peter Okwera placed seventh and eighth with times of 24:12.19 and 24:12.84, respectively. The fourth-place scorer for the Tops was Kyle Chettleburgh, who finished 66th overall in 25:11.07, while Sean Hurd rounded out the WKU scorers in 86th at 25:24.04.

The Lady Toppers placed 14th in the team scoring of the women's 5,000-meter gold race, led by the 12th-place effort of Marion Kandie, who clocked 17:22.96. Michelle Finn was 14th in 17:25.45 and Vasity Chemweno was 22nd at 17:36.69. Anna Reddin was the fourth finisher for WKU, clocked a time of 18:59.45 to place 175th, while Monica Akello rounded out the scoring with a time of 19:01.37 for 179th.

The men and women will split on their next trip, with the women heading to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the Crimson Classic on October 15th, while the men travel north to Terre Haute October 16th for Pre-Nationals, hosted by Indiana State.

WKU Women's Individual Finshes - Gold 5k Race

12. Kandie, Marion 17:22.96

14. Finn, Michelle 17:25.45

22. Chemweno, Vasity 17:36.69

175. Reddin, Anna 18:59.45

179. Akello, Monica 19:01.37

216. Porter, Brianne 19:25.74

248. Hale, Madison 20:16.71

WKU Men's Individuals Finishes - Gold 8k Race

4. Rwaheru, Deus 24:00.35

7. Mokone, David 24:12.19

8. Okwera, Peter 24:12.84