Cousins Salvador and Alex Cordova both broke the previous school record en route to Top 20 finishes to lead the Purdue University Calumet men’s cross country team in Friday’s Bethel College Invitational at St. Pat’s Park.
Freshman Salvador Cordova (Hammond, Ind./Bishop Noll) topped sophomore teammate Alex Cordova (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) for the first time this season in an 8-kilometer race, as the younger Cordova captured sole possession of the Peregrines’ program record with a time of 26:31 to place 16th overall.
Alex Cordova was right behind him, finishing in 17th with a time of 26:32, now the second-best time in school history. The sophomore set the previous school record – now the third-best time of 26:38 – at the Brissman Lundeen Invitational Sept. 26.
In all, five Peregrine runners set personal bests to lead the men’s squad to a 10th-place finish in the 13-team field, topped by Goshen College, who is receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
Freshman Roger Jachna (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) was the Peregrines’ next finisher in 78th, running a personal-best 28:35. Justin Peterson (Grant Park, Ill.), Cody Porter (East Chicago, Ind./Bishop Noll), and Arturo Ruiz (Hammond, Ind./Clark) also set personal bests in Friday’s race.
Peterson placed 94th overall with a 29:19, Ruiz placed 122nd with a 31:18 and Porter was 128th with a 32:23.
Michael Buckman (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) broke the 30-minute mark with his 110th place finish (29:58) and Stephen Bajzatt (Whiting, Ind./Whiting) wasn’t far off the mark in 113th place (30:13).
Rounding out the Peregrines – who topped their average team time this season by 26 seconds – was senior Kenny Karrson (Lansing, Ill./T.F. South), who crossed the finish line in 120th with his solid time of 31:13.
Purdue Calumet returns to action Oct. 25 when both Peregrine teams travel to the NAIA Great Lakes Invitational in Grand Rapids, Mich.