Green Wave Compete Against Nation's Best at Wisconsin Pre-Nats

Saturday, October 13

Madison, Wisc.

10 a.m.

Tulane University

Pre-National Invitational

Photo by: Parker Waters

Green Wave Compete Against Nation's Best at Wisconsin Pre-Nats

Oct 13, 2018 | Cross Country

Men's Results | Women's Results

MADISON, Wisc. – The Green Wave cross country teams competed against some of the best teams in the nation on Saturday with Emmanuel Rotich having a top-40 showing in the men's White Race at the Wisconsin Pre-Nats.

Rotich came in 39th place in the 8K race, crossing the finish line in 24:29.10.

Saturday's race – which was held on the same course as the national championship race in November – was Tulane's final regular-season race of the season and gave Rotich and the rest of the Green Wave a primer for the postseason races left on the schedule. Tulane's women competed against 10 teams in the top 25 nationally while the men had nine of the nation's top 25 teams in their field.

The Green Wave men came in 32nd place with 854 points. The Tulane women placed 35th with 1,086 points in the women's Cardinal 6K Race to begin the day. The temperature was in the 40s during the races, and frost on the course delayed the start of all races by 30 minutes.

Rotich's showing was the highlight of the day for Tulane. He ran with the lead pack through most of the race, sitting in 10th through two kilometers and 14th after 5.8 kilometers. But in the final two kilometers, he dropped off the pace and finished in 39th.

Evans Kipchumba was the next Tulane runner to finish, taking 162nd place with a time of 25:48.70. Carlos Zervigon took 199th place in 26:23.97, Tom Coe was 225th in 27:16.89 and Joshua Cheruyot completed the Tulane scoring by placing 229th in 27:51.29. Pierce Hill also ran for Tulane, taking 232nd place in 28:11.20.

Mckenzie Melius was the top finish for the women, taking 174th place in 22:33.08. Melius stood in 189th through 2K and moved up 15 places to by the end of the race.

Mary Catherine Stovall was next to finish for the Green Wave women, taking 213th in 23:23.67. Reid Belanger was 232nd in 25:12.84, Rachel Maue took 233rd in 25:40.82 and Paige Fatland finished 234th with a time of 26:27.66.

The Green Wave now have 12 days off before the postseason begins. Tulane will be hosting the American Athletic Conference Championship at Audubon Park on October 25.