Oct. 13, 2006
PEORIA, Ill. -
In the final race before the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships, senior Betsy McDonald led the Illinois State women's cross country team to a third-place finish at the Bradley Classic, Friday afternoon in Peoria, Illl. McDonald completed the women's 6K race in 22:42 and was the Redbirds' highest finisher in 11th place. The men's team, backed by strong performances by Mike Richardson and Scott Krapf, finished in fifth-place.
In the women's race, Southern Illinois finished in first-place with 36 points. Windsor finished in second with 113, followed by the Redbirds with 123 points. Saint Louis finished in fourth-place and Drake finished in fifth with 146 points. Ashley Anklam (21:42) of Drake finished in first-place individually, for the second consecutive year.
Junior Suzy Turner finished one spot behind McDonald in 12th place with a time of 22:51. Sophomore Kathleen Thompson continued to show signs of improvement by finishing in 23:07 and in 17th place. Freshman Kim Ebbesen (21st) finished in 23:20. Sophomore Stacey Turilli completed the race in 24:36 and finished in 66th. Senior Maureen Nelligan (25:12) finished in 86th, Whitney Beals (94th) finished with a time of 25:32 and freshman Hannah Radostits finished in 101st, clocking in at 25:38.
Head coach Jeff Bovee was pleased with the women's performance after his first race at the helm of the Redbird cross country program.
"The women ran well," said Bovee. "I was pretty satisfied with their performances. I thought Suzy, Kathleen and Kim all had really good races. Betsy bounced back and was able to hang on at the end of the race. Suzy moved up 20 places from the 2K mark to the finish, and I was really impressed with Kim's performance because it was her first 6K race."
Richardson led the men's squad, finishing the men's 8K race in 13th with a time of 26:05. Krapf was not too far behind Richardson, finishing with a time of 26:24 and in 19th. Freshman Jordan Anderson finished in 32nd and in 26:39. Freshman Rob Barkulis posted a personal-best time of 27:06 and finished in 53rd. Junior Brian Glaza (27:11) finished in 55th, and senior Bronco Meeks finished in 66th and in 27:25.
Drake won the men's race, finishing with 36 points. Windsor finished in second-place with 83 points. Illinois-Chicago finished in third-place and Southern Illinois finished with 111 points and in fourth. In-state rival Eastern Illinois finished behind the `Birds in sixth-place with 187 points. Southern Illinois' Jeff Schirmer won the individual title, finishing with a time of 25:12.
"The men's team had a strong performance," said Bovee. "I felt that Mike Richardson was able to bounce back and have a good race. Rob Barkulis also had a great race. He was able to stick his nose up there and attack and make some moves. I think that Bronco Meeks had good race as well. He probably ran his best race of the year."
The Redbirds will have a week to train and prepare before they compete at the State Farm Missouri Valley Championships on Saturday, Oct. 28th, in Lincoln, Neb.
