October 30, 2004
Carbondale, Ill. -
Laura Kennedy's time of 18:36.98 in the 5K helped earn the Illinois State women's cross country team a fourth-place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships Saturday morning in Carbondale.
Kennedy's time was good enough for ninth place, which was the best among the Redbirds. The men placed a disappointing tenth with Greg Baker achieving the top time in the 8K, clocking in at 27:18.04, good enough for 33rd place.
Cross country coach Chris Bailey, although disappointed with the finish of the men, had much praise for the women, particularly Kennedy who has been at the top of the MVC charts for much of the season.
"Laura ran a very solid race for us," Bailey said. "The conference is much tougher this year and she went out there and ran very well."
The women also had solid performances from Betsy McDonald and Diana Ainsley. McDonald was 19th with a time of 18:58.64, while Ainsley finished 23rd, clocking in at 19:13.86. Other notable performances on the women's side were Leah Smith's 28th place finish (19:32.26) and Suzy Turner's 36th place finish (19:44.42).
On the men's side, Bronco Meeks was 45th with a time of 27:53.12, while Dan Box placed 49th (27:59.32).
Jeremy Doherty, an all-conference performer last season, battled through injuries and health issues for much of 2004 and managed a 51st place finish with a time of 28:10.06.
The cross country team will travel to Peoria in two weeks for the NCAA Midwest Regional on Saturday, Nov. 13.
