DETROIT (9/27/2024) -- The University of Detroit Mercy men's and women's cross country teams will be back on the course as the Titans make the familiar trip to Louisville, Kentucky, for the annual Live In Lou Classic.
The men will run in the 8k Blue Race at 10:45 a.m., with the women competing in the 5k Blue Race, set to start at 11:30 a.m., at EP "Tom" Sawyer Park.
The red, white and blue have run in Louisville every season since 2007 - with the exception of the pandemic year in 2020.
Last season, the women were fourth - out of 33 teams - in the Silver Race as four harriers placed in the top 30. Graduate senior
Allison Sherman led the way, winning the overall race in a career-best 18:09, tied for the 12th-best 5k time in school history. Current sophomore
Ayva Schmalz was 27th in 19:39, while current junior
Evie Wright ran 19:45 for 30th.
The men were 10th in the Blue Race as graduate senior
Oscar Hernandez topped the team at 26:09 for 27th place.
Sherman has led the women in the first two races of the year as she was 14th in the Michigan Open in 18:53 and 22nd in 18:22 at Notre Dame's National Catholic Championships.
Meanwhile, for the men, sophomore
Joshua Otten has led the Titans in both races, clocking 15:49 in the 5k at Michigan and 26:22 in the 8k at Notre Dame.
The women have had two other top-10 runners at the event as
Louisa Coppola '14 was third in 2013 and
Sydnie Fetherolf '18 claimed fourth in 2017. The team also placed fourth in 2007 and seventh in 2017.
The men saw
Patrick Liederbach '11 and
Ben Kendell '18 take fourth in 2010 and 2015, respectively, while Kendall was also fifth in 2018. The men have had a pair of fourth-place team efforts in its history in 2015 and 2019, a sixth-place finish in 2010 and 10th in 2011.
