The Illinois State Redbirds women's cross country team secured third place, while the men's team finished fourth at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships held in Evansville, Indiana, on Friday. Eleven schools competed in the event.
The women's team accumulated 90 points, following Bradley with 15 points and Indiana State with 85. The men's team scored 111 points, finishing behind Bradley (49), UIC (74), and Belmont (89).
"The women battled well," said ISU head coach Jeff Bovee. "They were patient. Just missed out on that second place finish, but we battled really well."
Junior transfer Nora Brady led the Redbird women by placing seventh overall and earning First-Team All-MVC honors. Brady was also recognized as the MVC Women's Elite 18 Award Recipient for being the top female cross country student-athlete in the conference.
"Nora was really patient and ran a good race today," Bovee said. "That was a big highlight for us."
Freshman Pauline Schedler placed 12th to receive All-MVC Honorable Mention. Senior Maggie Reed and sophomore Astrid Van Breedam posted season-best times to finish 21st and 23rd respectively. Freshman Cameron Crump rounded out the team's point-scorers by finishing 30th.
Other notable performances included sophomore Colleen Zeibert finishing sixth for ISU and 37th overall, graduate Viviana Sanfilippo in 39th place, and freshman Brooke Zeibert setting a personal best with a time of 22:20.88 to finish in 40th position.
On the men's side, sophomore Julian Baker led Illinois State by finishing ninth overall and securing All-Valley First-Team honors for the first time.
"Julian was equally as patient today and had the best race of his Redbird career," Bovee said. "He's figuring out how to put it altogether. I'm really pleased with Julian's efforts."
Juniors Kane Shields and Cayde de Waal finished consecutively in 18th and 19th places, while junior Blake Oleson took 25th about ten seconds later. Sophomore Will Gelon completed scoring for Illinois State by coming in at 41st place.
"Kane Shields had a strong performance, and Pauline showed she was one of the top freshmen in the conference," Bovee added.
Sophomore Luke Barham finished sixth among ISU runners (52nd overall), followed closely by freshman Logan Scott in 53rd place. Junior Ethan Reynoso placed 71st, while sophomore Josh Weeks came in at 89th.
Award recipients from Illinois State included Nora Brady (Women's All-Valley First-Team; Women's Elite 18 Award), Pauline Schedler (Women's All-Valley Honorable Mention), and Julian Baker (Men's All-Valley First-Team).
Next up for both teams is preparation for the NCAA Midwest Regional meet scheduled to take place in Stillwater, Oklahoma on November 14.
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