Both the Illinois State mens and womens cross country teams turned in fourth place finishes at the 2001 Bradley Open.
"I was real pleased with how we ran today," said head coach Jeff Pigg. "We weren't trying to come in and win this meet. We were just trying to get the momentum started and see where the teams are at."
In the mens 8K race, veterans Christian Goy and Robert Breit paced the mens team finishing fifth and ninth place overall with times of 25:55.77 and 26:15.11 respectively. Newcomer Walter Ogola also ran well for the Redbirds placing 21st overall with a time of 26:49.02. The mens team finished with a total of 65 points.
"The men's group looked great," Pigg said. "We chose not to run three or four guys at this meet, but we still made a good showing."
Marquette and Eastern Illinois finished the mens meet in a first-place tie with a total of 39 points.
In the womens 5K race, Stacia Beste led the way for the Redbirds finishing 18th overall with a time of 19:00. Freshmen Diana Ainsley and Laura Kennedy were not too far behind finishing the race in 21st and 27th place with times of 19:06 and 19:19 respectively. The womens team finished with a total of 138 points.
"I feel really good about where we are at with the women's team," said Pigg. "The team ran really well. The freshman girls really stepped up for us and a number of the returning girls also ran well. It was nice to see Stacia (Beste) running cross country again as well."
Marquette also received first place in the womens meet with a total of 29 points.
The Redbirds will host their next scheduled meet on Saturday, September 15.
