Hardie Sets School Record at Joe Piane Invite

Freshman Alea Hardie set a school record with a time of 16:44.2, winning the women’s gold division 5K by 13 seconds at the Joe Piane Invite on Friday in South Bend, Ind. Hardie’s time edges the previous school record by four seconds, which was set by Sammie Resh with a time of 16:48 at the 1988 NCAA Championships.

With her third consecutive individual title to begin the season, Hardie is the first Husker to win three event titles in a season since Fran ten Bensel in 1991. The last Husker to open the season with three straight wins was Resh in 1987.

The Husker women won the women’s gold division with a score of 70 points, finishing one point ahead of runner-up Cal Poly’s 71 points. The Nebraska men finished fifth in the team standings with 144 points. Youngstown State took home the men’s title with 60 points, followed by UC Riverside (113), IUPUI (123) and Texas Tech (142).

Brynna McQuillen placed in the top 10 for the second consecutive meet, finishing 10th with a run of 17:18.4. Hannah Godwin came in 14th with a time of 17:32.6, followed by Taya Skelton with a finish of 17:41 to place 18th. Deavion DeLeon rounded out the scoring for the Big Red, covering the course in 17:48.8 to finish 25th.

Bailey Timmons paced Nebraska men, posting a fifth-place run of 24:35.1 in the five-mile race. Cal Puskar and Trevor Action finished back-to-back in 26th and 27th with runs of 25:10.8 and 25:11.0, respectively. Grant Wasserman crossed the finish line in 25:21.9 to place 40th, while Jerry Jorgenson had a run of 25:27.5 to record a 46th-place finish.

The Huskers are off next weekend and are split across two meets on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 14-15. A portion of the team will run at the Platte River Rumble on Friday, Oct. 14 in Ashland, Neb., while other members will compete at the Weis-Crockett Invitational hosted by Oklahoma State on Saturday, Oct. 15 in Stillwater, Okla.

Women’s Lineup (5K)

1. Alea Hardie – 16:44.2

10. Brynna McQuillen – 17:18.4

14. Hannah Godwin – 17:32.6

20. Taya Skelton – 17:41.0

25. Deavion DeLeon – 17:48.8

31. Cami Merickel – 17:53.6

33. Lindsey Blehm – 17:55.8

40. Jade Hallgrimson – 18:06.2

46. Jacquelyn Abanses – 18:12.4

 

Men’s Lineup (Five-Mile)

5. Bailey Timmons – 24:35.1

26. Cal Puskar – 25:10.8

27. Trevor Acton – 25:11.0

40. Grant Wasserman – 25:21.9

46. Jerry Jorgenson – 25:27.5

56. Adam Christopher – 25:41.9

58. Colby Erdkamp – 25:44.4

81. Zach Van Brocklin – 26:26.5

86. Brian Beach – 26:42.2