CHICAGO – The DePaul men’s and women’s cross country teams will compete at the second annual Great American Legends on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind. Purdue University hosts the meet with nine women’s teams competing in the 5k race and 10 men’s teams running in the 8k.
Team competing at the Great American Legends will be host Purdue, Danville Community, Eastern Kentucky, Indianapolis, Loyola-Chicago, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Western Michigan and Wright State. The U.S. Naval Academy will also run in the men’s race. The women’s 5k starts at 10 a.m. and is followed by the men’s 8k at 10:45 a.m.
The Great American Legends is in its second year and was designed to honor the legends of cross country and distance running in American history. This year, the race will honor Bob Schul, Mihaly Igloi and Don Kopriva. Schul is the only American to claim an Olympic Gold Medal in the 5k, winning it in 1964. The late Igloi, originally from Hungary, was known as one of the top coaches in the history of distance running. Acclaimed writer Kopriva is the founder of the coaches cross country national poll.
Saturday’s event marks the first time this season that the entire DePaul cross country team will be competing. On Aug. 30, three members of the women’s team and two from the men’s program competed at the UIC Home Opener in Palos Hills. Olivia Conlon was the top finisher for the Blue Demons while Rick Bitton paced the men’s contingent.
Next weekend, the Blue Demons travel to South Bend, Ind., for the 24th Annual National Catholic Cross Country Championships at Notre Dame. On Oct. 4, the teams will be at Montrose Beach for the annual Sean Earl – Lakefront Invitational.
