PHILIP TOR | STAFF REPORTER

The Butler cross country team came out on top Friday afternoon, capturing the Women’s Gold 5k top spot at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. Butler was led by junior Katherine Turner and senior Olivia Pratt, coming in second and fourth place respectively.

Butler claimed the top spot after a total running time of 1:29:41, and a low score of 108 points, holding off Indiana State University (114; 1:30:16) Saint Louis University (125; 1:30:33) and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (126; 1:30:52).

The underclassmen were not left out for Butler either. Sophomore Colleen Weatherford finished in 25th place, and freshman Meredith Gallagher finished in 44th place out of 150 total runners from 19 different teams.

The Men’s side did not have the same result, despite great performances from a few young prospects. In the Men’s 5-mile Gold event, sophomore Billy Thomas led the team with a strong time of 25:12.8, landing him in 16th place. Fellow sophomores Harry Winter and Mahlik Mahmud also clocked times that placed them in 50th and 103rd.

Clemson University took the top spot with a low score of 53 points, followed by North Central University (88), and Eastern Illinois University (115). Butler finished in 15th place with 386 points. 18 schools sent teams, with a total of 150 competitors in the event.

The cross country team will use this next week to train in preparation for the Pre-Nationals event in Louisville, KY, on October 17th.

(Full Results from the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational can be seen here)