McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Augustana Invitational meet held in Rock Island, Illinois, on October 15. The event featured a women's 6k race and a men's 8k race at Saukie Golf Course. Out of 25 teams, the women's team finished in 17th place, while the men secured 20th out of 27 teams.

The University of Chicago took first place in the women's competition with a score of 54 points, closely followed by Wartburg with 57 points. In the men's category, Pomona Pitzer claimed victory with 48 points, while North Central came second with 69 points.

Sophomore Annalese Chudy led the Illinois Wesleyan women by finishing 44th among 244 runners, achieving her personal best time of 22:32.0 for the year. Freshman Adriana Crabtree also set a collegiate personal best by completing the race in 23:17.8 to secure the 102nd position.

In the men's race, senior J.D. Barrett was Illinois Wesleyan's top runner, finishing in 134th place with a time of 25:56.3. Sophomore Nick Fisch followed him closely at the finish line, coming in at 151st place with a time of 26:09.2 out of a total of 275 competitors.

Looking ahead, both teams are set to participate in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championships scheduled for October 29 at St. James Farm in Warrenville, Illinois. Elmhurst University will host this event.