The Milwaukee men's cross country team participated in the Bradley Pink Classic on Friday afternoon in Peoria, Illinois. This event marked their final competition before the upcoming Horizon League Championships.
Head coach Andrew Basler commented on the significance of this meet, stating, "The Bradley Pink Classic has historically been a great meet as the final tune up for the conference championships." He added, "When you look at the average team times, we are right there with the other Horizon League teams competing."
Leading the Panthers was Carter Eckhoff, who finished 97th out of 265 runners in the Red Race with a time of 24:59.06. This performance not only secured him the 10th-best 8K time in program history but also marked his second consecutive personal best. Basler noted, "Carter ran a much better effort than at Notre Dame and it allowed him to dip under 25 minutes for the first time."
Following Eckhoff was Sam Schreiber with a time of 25:06.18. Other notable finishes included Will Whiteis at 25:46.57, Lucas Picco at 25:56.33, and Cullen Boyle at 25:58.52. The team placed 25th out of 29 teams in the Red Race with a total score of 631 points.
In the White Race, Talon Gamez led Milwaukee with his career-best time of 27:01.04. Sam Blascyk followed closely with his own career-best of 27:19.82, and Karsten Grundahl improved his previous record by over a minute to finish at 27:37.35.
Coach Basler expressed satisfaction with the team's overall performance saying, "Across all races I believe we had 10 lifetime bests and seven athletes who finished within six seconds of theirs." He continued to praise both men's and women's efforts by stating, "I really like how both the men and women fought today."
Milwaukee finished in 15th place out of 18 teams in the White Race with a score of 308 points.
Looking ahead to their next challenge, Basler concluded, "Heading into the Horizon League Championships, I am excited for the trajectory our men and women are on after today's performance."
The Panthers will compete next at the Horizon League Championships on Saturday, November 2nd at Phoenix Alumni Cross Country Course at Shorewood Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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