BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Both of the WKU cross country teams will head to Louisville, Kentucky, this Saturday for the first of three meets this year as the two squads take on nationally-ranked teams at the Greater Louisville Classic.
The Lady Toppers will run the 5,000-meter course at Tom Sawyer Park at 9:15 a.m. CT, while the men's team will start its 8K race at 9:45 a.m. CT. The meet will host one of the most competitive fields for both teams this season as there are 11 men's teams ranked in the USTFCCCA national polls and seven on the women's side.
"The next month for us is going to be all Kentucky meets so that's exciting for the locals to be able to see our kids compete," said head coach Erik Jenkins. "I think it's a good thing for our kids to be able to compete close to home and not have to travel so far, so we're excited to be going to Greater Louisville this weekend."
Following a second-place finish in the Forest Park Cross Country Festival, the Lady Toppers will look to build on their success at a familiar course. Senior Katie Lever, who finished fourth at the opening meet, placed in the Top 25 in last season's race in Louisville with a time of 17:37.39. Lever has been the top WKU runner in the last seven meets, while placing in the Top 10 in four of those events.
Lindsey Hinken also showed well in Louisville last year as she finished 30th with one of her best times since coming to The Hill at 17:41.45. Hinken joined Lever in the Top 10 in St Louis earlier this year by placing eighth.
On the men's side, Aaron Stevens and Endalow Takele have been the top performers so far in 2015. Takele started the season with a bang by winning the Belmont Opener to claim the first individual title of his career, while Stevens picked up a Top 15 finish. The win was the first by a WKU individual since David Makone won the 2013 Evansville Invitational and earned Takele Conference USA Co-Athlete of the Week honors.
