Sept. 1, 2006
URBANA, Ill. -
Senior Betsy McDonald finished in sixth place with a time of 14:35 to lead the Illinois State women's cross country team at the Illini Open, hosted by in-state rival Illinois, Friday night at the Illinois Arboretum in Urbana, Ill.
McDonald was followed by junior Suzy Turner in eighth-place in the 4K race with a time of 14:49. Freshman Kim Ebbesen took 16th place (15:09), Kathleen Thompson finished in 25th (15:36) and freshman Stacey Turilli claimed 30th place (15:55) to round out the lineup for the `Birds. Team scores were not kept as the women's and men's races were scored as an individual-entry event.
The women's team was without the services of Kim Smudde and Natalie Scatena, who were unable to compete due to preseason injuries. Head coach Elvis Forde feels that the women will have greater depth when the sophomore duo is able to return to the lineup.
"Kim and Natalie were definitely missed today," said Forde. "We didn't get the scores we were hoping for because of our lack of depth today. We will continue to monitor their progress and hopefully have them back soon."
On the men's side, Mike Richardson paced the `Birds in the 6K race with a time of 18:53 and finished in 11th place. Following Richardson were freshmen Jordan Anderson in 17th with a time of 19:05, and Scott Krapf in 18th (19:08). Brian Glaza took 25th (19:32), while freshman Rob Barkulis finished in 29th (19:58), Brian Syring placed 30th (20:01) and Bronco Meeks finished in 35th.
Forde was pleased with the overall performance from the women's and men's teams.
"I was very happy with the way both teams performed," said Forde. "I think that for the first race of the season we ran pretty well. I began to see signs that they are understanding how to run, with a good pace at the beginning and a strong finish."
The Redbirds travel to Peoria, Ill., to compete in the Bradley Open on Friday, September 8th, starting at 5:30 p.m.
