McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams participated in the DIII Pre-Nationals meet at Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. This event, held on Friday evening, October 4, took place on the official course of the 2024 NCAA Championships.

In the women's six-kilometer race, junior Adriana Crabtree from Normal, Illinois finished 18th with a time of 22:02.05. This performance is her best this season and the second-fastest of her career. Senior Annalese Chudy placed 68th with a time of 22:50.43, while freshman Maddie Morgan came in 166th at 24:11.39. Junior Brooke Nazos closely followed Morgan in 167th place at 24:11.63, and senior Emma McGrath improved significantly towards the end to finish 193rd with a time of 24:29.78.

In the men's eight-kilometer race, senior Nick Fisch delivered the top performance for his team, finishing in 102nd place with a time of 26:08.64. He was followed by junior Zack Daniel in 210th position at 27:06.46 and junior Seth Hamerski who completed his run in 229th place at 27:17.22.

The women's team secured a total of 557 points, achieving a team placement of 19th out of 44 teams. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology won first place with just 56 points, followed by the University of Chicago and DePauw University.

For the men's team standings, Illinois Wesleyan accumulated a total score of 925 points to rank them at position number thirty-three out of forty-six participating teams. Pomona-Pitzer claimed victory among men’s teams scoring sixty-five points.

Illinois Wesleyan's next competition will take place on Saturday, October nineteenth when they participate in Augustana Interregional Invitational in Rock Island, Illinois.