Sept. 15, 2006
URBANA, Ill. -
For the third week in a row, senior Betsy McDonald has led the Illinois State women's cross country team to a successful finish. McDonald finished in third-place at the Illini "Pack-It-Up" Challenge Friday night, guiding the women's squad to a second-place finish.
McDonald finished the 5K course at the Illini Arboretum in 18:17, placing in the top-six for the third time. McDonald paced the Redbirds at last week's Bradley Open as well as the Illini Open, where she finished in second and sixth, respectively. The women's team finished with 45 points, as host and in-state rival Illinois took the top spot with 29 points. Wisconsin-Milwaukee finished in third (71 points) and Illinois-Chicago was fourth with 81 points.
Illinois State head coach Elvis Forde was impressed with women's performance, especially the effort from McDonald.
"Betsy continues to run well," said Forde. "I think she's putting in a tremendous effort and I want to give her some time to rest. She's really working hard and she continues to perform at a high level."
Besides McDonald's finish, the `Birds also had solid performances from junior Suzy Turner, sophomore Kathleen Thompson and freshman Kim Ebbesen. Turner, who has placed in the top-eight three-weeks in a row, finished in sixth with a time of 18:59. Thompson finished in ninth-place, clocking in 19:07, while Ebbesen was three seconds behind in 10th with a time of 19:10.
On the men's side, freshman Jordan Anderson finished in 10th place with a time of 26:09 on the 8K course. As a team, the Redbirds finished in third-place (69 points) behind Illinois (15) and Illinois-Chicago (63). Wisconsin-Milwaukee finished with 94 points and in fourth-place. The competition was tough, as Illinois and Illinois-Chicago currently rank in the top-15 in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Midwest Region Preseason Poll.
Other notable performances for the `Birds included freshman Scott Krapf, who finished in 12th in 26:19 and sophomore Mike Richardson, who placed 15th (26:35). Brian Glaza close behind in 17th in 26:41.
"I think the kids competed tonight," said Forde. "We knew this weekend was going to be tough, because Illinois is a very good team. Jordan and Scott came through and performed very well. We ran very well as a team, but we were still fatigued from the training.
"It is definitely a weekend you can build upon," added Forde. "But our goal is still pointed at capturing both of the Missouri Valley Conference Championships."
The Redbirds will have a week off to continue training and gear up for the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational, Saturday, Sept. 30th in Chicago, Ill. The men's race is scheduled for a 12:15 p.m. start, followed by the women at 1:00 p.m.
