Morgan Ilse finishes ninth in five-kilometer race, UNC cross country competes in Louisville Classic

The North Carolina men’s cross country team finished 15th in the eight-kilometer race, and the women’s team placed 14th in the five-kilometer race at the Louisville Classic on Saturday.

What happened?

The Tar Heels were one of 142 colleges that participated in the 16th annual Louisville Classic Saturday in Kentucky, one of the largest cross country competitions in the country. Over 3,000 runners participated.

The women’s team finished 14th out of 37 teams in the five-kilometer, while the men finished 15th out of 30 teams in the eight-kilometer.

Northern Arizona, the top-ranked team in cross country, won the men’s race. Boise State finished first in the women’s division.

Who stood out?

Junior Morgan Ilse was the top finisher for the Tar Heels, as she finished ninth with a personal best time of 16:51.17.

Jeremy Brown was the first male Tar Heel to cross the finish line. The sophomore placed 72nd with a time of 24:50.20.

When was it decided?

The outcome for the men’s competition was never really in doubt. Northern Arizona runners took the top four spots, and the Lumberjacks placed six runners in the top ten overall.

The women’s competition was also decided early, as the average time for Boise State runners was about eight seconds quicker than second-place Wisconsin.

Why does it matter?

North Carolina ran pretty well in both the team and individual competitions. These performances in such a large and competitive meet will provide confidence going into the tail end of the season.

When do they play next?

North Carolina will travel to Pennsylvania next to compete in the Penn State National on Oct. 13 in its final regular season meet.

The Tar Heels will come back to Louisville to compete in the ACC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 27.

@jleland_

sports@dailytarheel.com