Saturday, October 1 – Cross Country (XC)
Purdue University hosted the first race of the weekend, the cross country race, on the extremely tight and twisty trails in McCormack Woods adjacent to the Purdue campus. The first race to start was the Men’s C, in which Jose Lugo and Carl Josephson competed. Overcoming a slow start that put him into the singletrack in the woods near the back of the pack, Lugo picked off riders in the technically demanding serpentine sections of the trails to net a 5th place on the day. Josephson, starting in his second race in his entire career, rode to a solid 11th place ahead of several more experienced riders from the Midwest Conference.
Douglas Ansel and Luke Tilmans competed in the Men’s B race later in the morning. Ansel
picked up speed as the race went on and was in position to pass into 3rd position only one third of the way into the 16 mile race. However, he suffered a flat tire and crash in quick succession that prompted him to withdraw from the race with an injured knee. Tilmans began to pass riders in the latter portion of the race and finished 4th, several slots better than his last race at the University of Michigan.
Sunday, October 2 – Short Track Cross Country (STXC)
The second day of racing at Purdue consisted of a short-track race held on a short 800m track with several sharp climbs and off-camber turns that tested riders’ technical ability and nerve. Douglas Ansel was the only Notre Dame representative at the race and was leading the Men’s B race at the halfway point when he pushed too hard in a turn and crashed, losing 10-15 seconds and several positions. He was able to pull himself back up to 3rd position at the finish, lapping several riders in the process.