The Purdue University Calumet men’s cross country team placed fourth among the 10 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference teams in Saturday’s NAIA Great Lakes Invitational to complete a strong showing from the Peregrines.
Purdue Calumet, led by Top 60 finishes by Salvador Cordova (Hammond, Ind./Bishop Noll) and Alex Cordova (Hobart, Ind./Hobart), placed 20th overall in the 39-team meet with 615 points. The Peregrines topped CCAC foes Trinity Christian (21st, 622), Judson (27th, 736), Robert Morris (28th, 743), Roosevelt (29th, 749), Trinity International (34th, 914), Saint Xavier (incomplete), and St. Francis (incomplete).
Salvador Cordova finished 54th overall to lead the Peregrines with a time of 27:09, which stands as the seventh-best time in school history. Cousin Alex Cordova wasn’t far behind in 59th, running a time of 27:12 (eighth-best in program history).
Freshman Roger Jachna (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) crossed the line in 134th with a 28:50 and senior Kenny Karrson (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South) was 180th with a season-best time of 30:10. Sophomore Justin Peterson (Grant Park, Ill.) placed 188th (30:31), Fernando Pina (Hammond, Ind./Hammond) was 192nd (30:41) and Michael Buckman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) was 199th (30:53) to round out the Peregrines’ scoring.
The Peregrine women’s squad topped four CCAC teams in its 31st place finish with 944 points, edging Calumet St. Joseph (32nd, 969), Trinity International (33rd, 1020), Purdue North Central (incomplete) and Robert Morris (incomplete).
Freshman Heather Kristensen (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) returned to lead the Peregrines with her 172nd place 5K finish, finishing in a time of 22:38. Classmate Ashley Ulanowski (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) was second for the squad in 182nd (23:01) and Christine Lewandowski (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll) was third in 194th (23:36).
Rounding out the Peregrines’ scoring was Jesenia Zendejas (Highland, Ind./Highland) in 199th (23:52), Holly Opat (Lowell, Ind./Lowell) in 202nd (24:03) and Abigial Bondi, in her first collegiate race, in 207th (24:31).
Purdue Calumet has a week off from competition before returning to action in the CCAC Championships Nov. 8 in Elgin, Ill.