McLean County Times

Graduate student William Sinclair from Illinois State University is preparing to participate in the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The event will take place on Saturday, November 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wisconsin. The races can be viewed on ESPNU or through the ESPN app.

Sinclair qualified for this prestigious competition by securing ninth place in the 10k race at the NCAA Midwest Regionals. He completed the race with a time of 29:19.99, setting a new record for Illinois State and becoming the first Redbird to achieve a sub-30-minute time in this distance. Additionally, he now holds records for both the 8k and 10k distances within the program.

This year marks Sinclair's debut at the NCAA Championships and makes him the first Redbird to compete since Kevin Koski did so in 2021. Sinclair is set to become the 25th male runner from Illinois State to race at this national event.

Earlier this month, Sinclair won an individual title at the MVC Championship meet, making him the sole representative from his conference, known as "the Valley," at this year's NCAA Championships. Furthermore, he is noted as being "the Valley's first men's qualifier since 2022."