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Redbirds Take Third at Valley Cross Country Championships
Nov. 1, 2008
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams each finished third at the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday afternoon at the Missouri State Cross Country Course in Springfield, Mo. Sophomore Matt Mroczynski, junior Scott Krapf and sophomore Michelle Brunk each placed in the top-10 to gain All-Missouri Valley Conference accolades. The men's 8K race was highly contested between Southern Illinois (first place, 37 points), Indiana State (second place, 40 points) and Illinois State (third place, 50 points). The women's 5K race was not much different, as the point spread was a 20-point difference, with Wichita State gaining top honors with 59 points. Missouri State took second with 71 points and was followed by Illinois State with 79 points. "I think both teams will be ready for regionals (NCAA Midwest Regional Championships)," said Illinois State head coach Jeff Bovee. "Things won't change too much for us over the next two weeks. If we can battle as well as we did (Saturday), we could be top-10 finisher. Both teams competed well (Saturday), and I could not be more happy with their performances." Mroczynski and Southern Illinois' Jeff Schirmer led all competitors in the men's 8K race, with Mroczynski holding the lead at the 6,000-meter mark. In a fight for the finish down the final stretch, Schirmer pulled ahead and finished just 10 seconds ahead of Mroczynski. For a second year in a row, Schirmer won the championship race, while Mroczynski finished runner-up with a time of 24:18.97 and collected his first cross country all-conference honor.
"Indiana State ran incredibly well and had a great day," said Bovee. "We had five guys finish in the top-17. It was very difficult for anyone to PR (run a personal-best time). The course was a little slow because it had rain on it from before. That magnified the challenges (of the race). "The foundation is there, and we are going to get better as a team." The ISU men ran a competitive race, getting all five point scores across the finish line in the top-20 finishers, with Krapf also gaining all-conference accolades for finishing seventh with a time of 24:39.58. Senior Mike Richardson finished in 11th place with a time of 24:57.07. Rich Eber was the first freshman out of all competitors to cross the finish line, covering the course in 25:09.90 for a 13th-place finish. Sophomore Jon Roberts was the fifth Redbird across the finish line with a time of 25:21.10 to place 17th. Sophomores Jim Link (25:52.73) and John Navarro (26:33.06) rounded out the ISU finishers with 23rd- and 34th-place finishes, respectively. On the women's side, Brunk earned her first top-finish for the Redbirds after she placed 10th to earn All-Missouri Valley Conference accolades while running a personal-best time of 18:09.46. "This is the first time she has been our No. 1 runner," said Bovee. "The course was pretty tough, and the weather was pretty warm, so for her to run a personal-best was huge. She was really able to gobble up five people in the last 1,000 meters of the race. Her confidence is building, and we need her to have that same confidence going into the regional meet (Nov. 15) and running a 6K." Illinois State's next three runners to cross the line finished one right after another, with freshman Aisha Praught leading the charge. Praught finished with a time of 18:29.16 and was followed by sophomores Olivia Myers (18:37.20) and Jess Husted (18:38:12). The trio took the No. 14, 15 and 16 positions, respectively. Sophomore Kirsten Lang was ISU fifth runner to cross the finish line, taking the 24th position with a time of 18:55.83. The ISU men's and women's cross country teams will compete again Nov. 15 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Stillwater, Okla. |
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