UPLAND, IN – The UIndy cross country teams packed up for a trip on Friday to the John Bullock Invitational. Out of the eight teams competing, the Greyhounds finished the day in several of the top spots on both sides. The women ended up second place overall in the 5,000-meter race, while the men finished their 8,000-meter event first place overall.

"It's the second week in a row where it has been unusually warm outside," explained head coach Brad Robinson, "we're incredibly happy with both team's performances today, despite the heat."

The women produced several high-quality races on Friday, including two runners inside the final top 10. Lauren Bailey led the entire field, stealing the show on a first place finish of 17:28.2. Bailey crushed the field while achieving a new personal best time, as the second-place finisher was 43 seconds behind her. Freshman Lex Brookshire made her mark in the competitive field as well, crossing the finish line ninth overall on a time of 19:13.1, sliding a spot in the top 10 by around nine seconds.

The Greyhounds also featured three other student-athletes inside the top 20 for the women. Madelyn Miller placed 11th with a time of 19:24.6, Melissa Spencer finished 14th on her 19:44.5 time and Kelsey Dugger rounded it out at 20th on a final time of 19:57.8.

The men excelled in the field as well, taking half the available spots in the top 10. Sophomore Nathan Herbst ended as the top Greyhound in the field, finishing fourth overall on a time of 26:18.4. Sophomore-counterpart Chris Switzer was right behind him, ending the race on his 26:20.8 time for fifth.

Positions seventh through ninth would also feature UIndy student-athletes, including Kieffer Vittetow (seventh, 26:29.3), Jacob Woodrow (eighth, 26:33.0) and Nyc Sigmon (ninth, 26:38.4). All 25 Greyhounds points were accumulated inside the top 10, the best in the field by 29 points.

"Both team started off our races really well together as a pack," said Herbst. "The last 3K of the race was tough with the constant winding trails and hills, but the team finish is a great indication for what's to come."

UIndy will kick off the second half of the regular season down south, where they'll have some runners compete in the Louisville Greater Classic at the University of Louisville. The race will take place on Oct 5 at 9:30 a.m.