Danny Bugg Assistant Athletic Director/Marketing | Twitter Website
Danny Bugg Assistant Athletic Director/Marketing | Twitter Website
The Illinois State University Cross Country team achieved notable performances at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri. The men's team secured a ninth-place finish with 280 points, surpassing competitors such as Florida, Georgia Tech, Iowa, and Kansas. The women's team finished 15th with 517 points. Over 40 schools participated in the event, including several nationally ranked teams according to the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Cross Country National Coaches' Polls.
Three senior runners from Illinois State set new top-10 times in the program's history. Mathis Chavand and William Sinclair both broke the previous fastest mark of 23:50 with times of 23:20.9 and 23:32.1 respectively. Zack Loomis recorded a personal best time of 23:57.3, earning the fourth fastest mark in school history.
On the women's side, Astrid Van Breedam ran a time of 21:26.5, marking the ninth-fastest time in program history during just her second 6k race.
Director of Track & Field/XC Jeff Bovee commented on the men's performance: "We had the best performance from our men's team as we have had in many years... Our first three are running with the best programs in the country right now."
Regarding the women's race, Bovee stated: "Astrid (Van Breedam) coming in as a freshman in her second 6k of her life to lead the team was fantastic... We need to be more consistent; we don't have a lot of depth on the women's side."
MEN'S 8K RESULTS – 9th Place (280 points)
Mathis Chavand (23:20.9), William Sinclair (23:32.1), Zack Loomis (23:57.3), Yusuf Baig (24:26.1), Julian Baker (25:06.5), Nick Doud (25:10.8), Blake Oleson (25:22.2), Dylan Myers (25:30.6), Nathan Virginelli (28:15.6).
WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS – 15th Place (517 points)
Astrid Van Breedam (21:26.5), Lauren Schulze (21:30.3), Maggie Reed (21:33.1), Mattison Plummer (21:51.1), Grace Erb (22:24.7), Kaitlin Skeate (22:48.1), Ashlyn Smith (23:30.3), Viviana Sanfilippo (23:45.7), Trixie Johnson (23:56.2).
MEN'S OPEN RACE RESULTS
Josh Weeks (25:53.8), Luke Barham (25:59.6), Charlie Kistner (26:12.
Next up for the Redbirds is a trip to Peoria, Illinois for the Bradley Pink Classic on Friday, October 18 at 2 p.m.
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