Butler sweeps Horizon League cross country championships
Oct. 27, 2007
Results | Photo Gallery 
Valparaiso, Ind. - Butler University swept the Horizon League Cross Country Championships for the sixth consecutive year. The women's 5K race and the men's 8K race were held in Valparaiso, Indiana at the Sunset Hills Park on Saturday, October 27.
The Bulldog men won the League championship for the tenth consecutive year, sweeping the top five spots, and totaling just 15 points. It was the third time in League history that a team has posted the lowest possible team score of 15. Notre Dame did so in 1990, while Butler achieved the feat in 2004.
Loyola University Chicago was second with 100 points, followed by Youngstown State University (101), the University of Detroit Mercy (111), Valparaiso University(112) Wright State University (123), the University of Illinois at Chicago (127), the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (182) and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (242).
The 85-point margin-of-victory is far and away the largest in the history of the League, with the previous best being 54 points when Butler topped Loyola (17-71) in 2000.
Butler junior Andy Baker won his first League championship, running away with the title in a time of 24:56. Baker was followed by four of his Bulldog teammates in senior Sam Jacobs (26:03), junior Tommy Davies (26:09), freshman Matt Lawder (26:15) and senior Kent Wories (26:16). Loyola freshman Ben Reifenberg (26:24.4) and Detroit freshman Patrick Liederbach (26:24.5) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, to round out the First-Team All-League team.
The Butler women started the day by taking their sixth-straight Horizon League Cross Country Championship with a total of 33 points, as four Bulldog runners placed in the top seven. The Bulldogs were followed by runner-up Milwaukee with 60 points on the day.
Loyola finished third at 62, followed by Valparaiso (118), UIC (145), Detroit (196), Green Bay (198), Wright State (210), Cleveland State (225) and Youngstown State (233).
Valparaiso junior Laura Rolf won her first Horizon League Cross Country title, and her fifth-straight race this season, crossing the finish line in 17:33. She was pushed by Butler senior Genni Gardner, who came in just five seconds behind Rolf with a time of 17:38. Butler senior Claire Holme took third place (18:13), while Milwaukee's top-finisher, senior Holly Nearman (18:15) earned fourth place. Butler junior Rachel Gibbs (18:20), Valpo senior Rachael Button (18:53) and Marbeth Shiell, a sophomore from Butler (18:58), also gained First-Team All-League recognition by finishing fifth through seventh, respectively.
Loyola freshman Danielle Locascio earned the League Women's Newcomer of the Year award, finishing in ninth-place with a time of 19:05, while Matt Lawder, a freshman from Butler, earned the Men's Newcomer of the Year award, crossing the finish line in 26:15, good for fourth-place. Milwaukee head coach Pete Corfeld was voted the Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, as Butler head coach Matt Roe took the Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year honor.
