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By Chad Hensley, NKU Sports Information WEST CHESTER, Ohio – After finishing the collegiate division of the Dayton Flyer 5K in dominating fashion last week, the Northern Kentucky University men’s cross country team didn’t disappoint head coach Steve Kruse despite completing the Queen City Invitation in second place. The five-kilometer race was held at Voice of America Park and co-hosted by NKU, Cincinnati, and Xavier. Zach Koehler, a junior from Union, Ky., led the way for the Norse when he finished the course in a time of 15:44.40, which was good for seventh place overall. Koehler led a group of five Norse runners – Koehler, Matthew Shoulta, Ryne Smith, Drew Harris, and Keith Knapp - that all finished within a total of just over 18 seconds of each other. The University of Cincinnati was the victorious team as the Bearcats edged the Norse by a score of 38 to 51 for the win. As for the women’s meet - after finishing the race and looking at her time - Julianne Hoekzema had a case of déjà vu as her time had an exact carbon-copied look to it compared to last week in the Dayton Flyer 5K. Hoekzema, a senior from Fairfield, Ohio, finished both meets in a time of 18:32.00. The only difference in the results being this week’s finish was good enough for a third-place finish overall. NKU also received good performances from Alisha Hansman, Jenna Siemer, Rose Morgan and Janice Laker to complete the scoring for the Norse. As a team, NKU placed finished in fourth place as it edged Ohio State by three points. Cincinnati completed the sweep of both meets as it narrowly defeated Miami University by two points for the title. Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, September 15, as they travel to Joplin, Mo., to take part in the Southern Stampede hosted by Missouri Southern State University. The women’s 5K race will start at 9 a.m. and the men’s 8K race will start at 9:45 a.m., both times are local to the site. The course that is being used for the Southern Stampede will also serve as the host site for the NCAA Division II nationals. |
