Sophomore Euan Makepeace crosses the finish line to win the Commodore Classic on Sept. 16. Photo courtesy of Butlersports.com.

JOSH MULLENIX | STAFF REPORTER | jmulleni@butler.edu

The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished 15th at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 29. Sophomore Josephine Thestrup recorded an 8th place finish to lead the women’s team.

The men were part of an elite field that featured Southern Utah, the 13th ranked team in the nation. Southern Utah was followed by six more teams that were either part of the most recent top 25 or received votes to be.

The Bulldogs were led by junior Johnny Leverenz who finished 58th with a time of 24:41.4. He was followed by freshman Barry Keane who finished 67th seven seconds behind Leverenz.

Sophomores Euan Makepeace (25:01.5), Evan Johnson (25:02.8) and senior Matt Lumbar (25:09.3) rounded out the five scores for Butler for a team score of 381.

Alabama’s Gilbert Kigen won the men’s race with a time of 23:23.7 while Southern Utah won the team event.

In the women’s race, Thestrup’s top-10 placing was followed by freshman Angelina Ellis who finished 32nd with a time of 18:06.4.

Freshman Camille Hines (18:44.3), senior Hannah Hartzell (18:54.2) and junior Grace Butkus (19:04.2) rounded out the five scored finishes for the Bulldogs for a team total of 322.

Creighton’s Emily Martin won the women’s race with a time of 16:58.1 while Northern Iowa won the team event.

The next stop for Butler cross country will be NCAA Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky on Oct. 14.