The Case Western Reserve University cross country teams sprinted into first place at the Sudeck Sunset Classic Stampede on Friday, Aug. 31 at the Squire Valleevue Farm in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Third-year runners Madeline Lindemann and Andrew Green broke away from the pack to each place first in their respective races. Lindemann won the 4,000-meter race with a time of 15:23.0, nearly 22 seconds faster than the second place finisher from John Carroll University. In the men’s race, Green took the 6,000-meter race with a time of 19:38.2, narrowly beating fellow teammate and second-year runner Yoshmar Pinal-Alfaro.

Fourth-year runner Zach Roshon and second-year runner Eric Rachita placed in the top five overall, securing the win for the Spartan men’s team with times of 19:55.8 and 20:05.0, respectively.

For the women’s team, second-year runner Kiera Olson took third with a time of 16:01.7, and fourth-year Jennifer Hoffmann came close behind in fifth with a time of 16:12.8. Several more runners on the women’s team earned points, and the team took first place.

According to Lindemann, the women’s cross country team began their preseason with an awesome attitude which she hopes will carry into its upcoming meets. The coaches and their families added to that positive excitement during the meet, which helped keep the runners’ spirits high.

“Our assistant coach…Chris Kelly’s mom [was] driving the cart that led the runners, and [was] cheering me on in the back half of the race, which definitely kept me going,” Lindemann said.

Despite finishing so far ahead of her competitors, Lindemann said her win in the Sudeck Sunset Stampede came rather unexpectedly.

“I did not expect the race to go the way it did, especially since [I’m] coming off of a hip injury,” Lindemann said. “But it proved to me to have confidence in my training and to continue to work to get healthy.”

The Sudeck Sunset Classic Stampede is named for William “Bill” Sudeck. Sudeck was the Case Institute of Technology (and later, Case Western Reserve University) head cross country and track and field coach for 46 years, and the classic honors his winning legacy here at CWRU.

The Sudeck meet hit home for Lindemann.

“After the meet, Coach Lanese spoke about how he was a mentor for her when she became the cross country coach at [CWRU],” she said. “The running program that he created at [CWRU] is one that I am proud to be a part of.”

The Spartan cross country teams had a break from competition this past week, but are scheduled to run in the Allegheny Cross Country Classic at Allegheny College on Saturday, Sept. 15.