UKXC Men 11th, Women 15th at PSU National Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Kentucky men’s cross country team finished 11th and the women’s team placed 15th to conclude the regular season on Friday at the Penn State National Open.
 
Ben Young was the UK men’s team’s top finisher, running a 5.2-mile personal best of 25:23.00. Brennan Fields ran 25:35.00 to finish 26th.
 
Caitlin Shepard was the Kentucky women’s team’s No. 1 placer running 21:25.00 over 6k, finishing as the Wildcats’ top runner for the second meet in a row.
 
Cross country refresher
Points are scored in cross country corresponding to finishing place. The place of each of the top five finishers on each team are added up and the team with the lowest total wins. Placers outside a team’s top five cannot score so finishers on other teams that might finish behind a team’s No. 6 or No. 7 finisher can get a point total fewer than their overall place in the race.

TEAMS COMPETING (Both genders unless noted)
Akron, Arkansas (M), Boston College (W), Brown, Bucknell, Charleston Southern (M), Cornell (W), Dartmouth, Duquesne, Eastern Kentucky, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Iona, James Madison (W), Kentucky, Lehigh (W), Loyola (W), Michigan State, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Penn, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Princeton (W), Rutgers, Utah (W), Virginia, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia (W).
 
RANKED TEAMS AT THE NATIONAL OPEN
The National Open features five ranked teams in the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) coaches’ poll in both races.
 
On the men’s side, Arkansas is No. 16, Eastern Kentucky is No. 18, Virginia is No. 19, Iona is No. 27, Georgetown is No. 29, Virginia Tech is No. 30, while Michigan State is receiving votes.
 
In the women’s race, Michigan State is No. 14, Penn State is No. 19, Georgia Tech is No. 26, Utah is No. 27, Princeton is No. 29, while Dartmouth and Georgetown are both receiving votes.
 
Men’s Team results (Winner + UK)
1. Virginia: 61
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11. Kentucky: 269
 
Women’s team results (Winner + UK)
1. Penn State: 62
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15. Kentucky: 379
 
UK men’s individual results
18. Ben Young: 25:23
26. Brennan Fields: 25:35
50. Patrick Schaefer: 25:53
74. Matthew Thomas: 26:10
101. Trevor Warren: 26:29
123. Kendall Muhammad: 26:53
125. Cole Dowdy: 27:00
 
UK women’s individual result
45. Caitlin Shepard: 21:25
50. Kaitlyn Lacy: 21:28
83. Rachel Boice: 21:46
86. Sophie Carrier: 21:48
115. Kelli Walsh: 22:06
135. Madisyn Peeples: 22:18
138. Sarah Michels: 22:20
 
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