TERRE HAUTE, IND. - - Belmont University’s cross country teams turned in fine results in unquestionably the deepest field of the year Saturday at the NCAA Pre Nationals Meet hosted by Indiana State University.

The men’s team finished 28th out of 40 participating teams in the highly competitive “White Team” event. Belmont completed the LaVern Gibson Championship Course with a team total of 720 points.

Sophomore Kipkosgei Magut (Kitale, Kenya) led the Bruins individually, finishing 109th with a time of 24:34. Senior John Brigham (Mobile, Ala.) was next with a time of 24:49. Sophomore Hillary Cheruiyot (Eldoret, Kenya) was two seconds later in 24:51. Then came junior Caleb Swartz (Radcliff, Ky.) in a time of 24:59.

Sophomore Will Peters (Carmel, Ind.) rounded out the top five Belmont times with his run of 25:31. Freshman Kip Hill (Liberty, Mo.) came home in 25:56, while sophomore Ben McGlothlin (Mason, Ohio) ran in 26:45.

In an event littered with the nation’s elite and runners capable of submitting sub-24 minute times, BU head coach Jeff Langdon was not disappointed with the result.

“Without Jacob Buckman today, it was a good overall performance,” Langdon said. “We ran well from top to bottom. It was an extremely fast course with a fast pace from the start. With Jacob, we may have had five runners go in sub-25 minute times, and that would have been a program first. Our team is still pointed towards conference and the rest of the season.”

UTEP won the men’s “White Team” race with 129 total points.

As for the Belmont women, the Bruins finished 30th in a deep, fast “White Team” race. Senior Lauren Williams Weaver (Nashville, Tenn.) led Belmont with a time of 21:33, good enough for 80th place out of 235 runners.

Sophomore Brittany Thune (Sioux Falls, S.D.) ran in 21:55 to finish 111th. Senior Elizabeth Smothers (Brentwood, Tenn.) posted a time of 23:05, while freshman Dominique Roy (Halifax, Nova Scotia) finished in 23:11.

Senior Megan Saunders (Sylva, N.C.) rounded out the BU top five with a time of 23:13. Junior Molli e Schlarman (Southgate, Ky.) and sophomore Aubrey Alexander also posted times.

Princeton won the ladies “White Team” race with 149 points.

Belmont’s men’s and women’s teams return to action in two weeks – Saturday, October 27 – at the Atlantic Sun Championships. The meet will be held at Percy Warner Park in Nashville.