Cross Country Recap: UD Proves Merit Against Top Programs

James Dronzek
Contributing Writer

University of Dayton’s Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jason Ordway continues to be impressed with the Flyers’ cross country program as it continues to compete with other top Division I programs.

The 63rd annual Joe Piane Meet took place on Friday, hosted by the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. UD took on top-notch teams such as Florida State, Iowa, and Oklahoma and performed well, as the men placed in 6th place in the 8K while the women came in 13th place in the 5k\K.

“We were nervous going up against these big-time programs,” said senior Chris Negri. “Our main goal was to beat teams like BYU, Florida State, and Miami, who are in the same place in their regions as we are.”

On the men’s side, Negri lead the pack, coming in 16th place with a time of 24:20. Senior Spencer Danielson (18th place, 24:21), junior J.P. Flavin (29th, 24:37), senior Luke Hoover (70th, 25:19), and sophomore Michael Laughlin (74th, 25:23) rounded out the top five Flyers to give them a score of 207, good enough for 6th place as a team.

Ten runners achieved their personal records at this meet, including Danielson and Laughlin. Dayton placed behind BYU, Wyoming, Notre Dame, Furman, and Weber State.

“I think we did a really great job today,” said coach Ordway. “We had a lot of guys running their PRs at this meet, and I think we were able to tell how we will fair at Pre-Nationals by going up against a lot of tough competition.”

For the women, the story of the afternoon was senior Emily Borchers. She ran a 17:16 in the 5K, breaking the Dayton all-time school record for this race.

“I was very proud of her today,” said coach Ordway. “Emily and Taylor Vernot have been at the top of their game for us all season, and Emily really showed what she was capable of at her best today.”

Borchers came in 19th at the meet, while fellow senior Vernot placed 31st with a time of 17:31. Sophomore Kelly Wilker (79th place, 18:13), senior Allison Triskett (96th, 18:27), and sophomore Carlee Constable (103rd, 18:31) were the top five Flyers, putting them in 13th place with 321 points.

Dayton is looking forward to October 13, where they will be headed to Madison, Wisconsin for the NCAA Pre-Nationals.