Butler Men Place Fifth, Women Tenth At Great Lakes Regional

Junior Madison Roeder paced Butler’s men with a seventh place individual finish and freshman Katie Clark led Butler’s women with a 22nd place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Meet, hosted by Indiana University on Saturday, Nov. 14.  Butler’s men placed fifth of 30 teams, while Butler’s women came in 10th of 32 squads.

Madison Roeder covered the 10K course in 31:13.92, missing a “Top Five” individual finish by less than a second.  He was followed across the finish line by teammate Andy Baker, who finished eighth in 31:19.52.

Justin Roeder was the third Butler runner to place in the “Top 20” with a 16th place finish in 31:27.45, but the Bulldogs next finisher was nearly 50 places back.  Joe Macdonald came in 63rd in 32:40.91, while Tom Boardman came in 66th in 32:46.56.  Kris Gauson came in 96th (33:28.58) and Rob Mullett finished 106th (33:41.23).

The fifth place finish left the Bulldogs short of an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championship, though Madison Roeder and Baker could earn individual spots in the national meet.

"To have three men finish in the top 16 and not earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships is a bitter disappointment for our program,” said Butler head coach Matt Roe after the race.  “We just let a great opportunity slip away today.   Cross Country is the ultimate team sport and as a team we came up short.  This result will be etched with us, and I know we will use this challenge positively as we move forward."

Wisconsin claimed the men’s team title, while Michigan finished runner-up.  Jeff See of Ohio State was the individual champ, posting a time of 31:03.16.

Clark paced Butler’s women with a time of 21:42.23, finishing just ahead of teammate Lauren McKillop who came in 27th in 21:52.34.  McKillop tripped at around the 3K mark and her shoes slipped off.  She completed the race without shoes!   

Rosie Edwards was Butler’s third runner, crossing the finish line in 92nd place with a time of 22:58.64, while Shelbi Burnett came in 94th in 23:00.87.  Butler’s fifth runner was Kirsty Legg, who placed 106th in 23:07.72.  Sara Bird came in 110th in 23:11.69 and Karleen Ritchie finished 169th in 24:24.90.

“I am really excited about the women's improvement throughout the year,” noted Roe.  “Katie Clarke and Lauren McKillop in particular showed true grit today.  To have Katie earn all region honors as a freshman is outstanding.  For Lauren to run the last half the race with no shoes and just miss all-region is phenomenal!  I love her toughness and commitment to the program.”

Notre Dame won the women’s team championship, edging out Ohio State.  Emily MacLeod of Michigan State claimed the individual title in 20:42.70.