Nov. 10, 2007
Results
PEORIA, Ill. -
Senior captain Suzy Turner concluded her cross country career running a personal-best (21:32) in the women's 6K race and keyed the Illinois State women's cross country team to a 14th-place finish (389 points). The men's team was guided to an 11th-place finish (299 points) by freshman Matt Mroczynski who ran the men's 10K race in 31:15 at the NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by Bradley, at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill., Saturday.
Head coach Jeff Bovee was satisfied with his team's final performance of the year and believes that the men's and women's enthusiasm during the cross country season will carry over into track and field.
"We made some positive strides and I feel good about the direction that we are going," said Bovee. "I think that the men and women have a great attitude and are already talking about training for track season. They are hungry for more and for me that is the most positive thing because that tells me that we are just going to continue to get better."
Running his first NCAA Regional race Mroczynski claimed his third top-finish, placing 37th for the Redbird men. Sophomores Jordan Anderson (31:17) and Scott Krapf (31:31), ran personal-bests finishing 40th and 45th, respectively. Junior Mike Richardson finished with a person-best time of 32:26(80th), while freshman Jon Roberts in his first 10K race ran a 32:34 (84th). Rounding out the men's performances was freshman Luke Ryan (33:58) and sophomore Rob Barkulis (35:37) who placed 123rd and 151st, respectively.
"I don't think that the guys had their strongest performance today, but I think they got some good experience and this should propel them into a great track season," said Bovee. "Mentally running a 10K race is tough, I feel that they were physically ready to run a longer distance, but we are still a young team and 10K is a different mindset."
In her final cross country meet Turner achieved her sixth-straight top finish for the Redbird women, placing 43rd. Freshman Sarah Glowacki was the second `Bird to cross the finish line, coming in 74th place with a time of 21:59. Freshman Jess Husted (22:06) and sophomore Kim Ebbesen (22:12) achieved personal-best times finishing the race in 81st and 86th, respectively. Junior Natalie Scatena crossed the finish line in 22:44 (117th), while freshman Gina Kapusta followed closely behind finishing the race in 122nd place with a time of 22:53. Junior Stacey Turilli rounded out the women's performances finishing the race in 23:19 (142nd).
"I felt like our women had their best team race of the year," said Bovee. "I am also very proud of Suzy. She has really stepped it up a notch in her senior year at conference and regionals. She achieved two personal-bests and all-conference this year, and today she fought for every second in the race."
In the men's race, Oklahoma State took home the title, finishing with 47 points. Minnesota placed second, while Iowa State finished third with a total of 110 points. Tulsa placed fourth, Oklahoma finished in fifth and Illinois finished in sixth place. Missouri Valley Conference schools Southern Illinois (7th place), Creighton (13th), host Bradley (14th), Drake (16th) and Wichita State (18th) also competed in the event. Trent Hoerr of Illinois crossed the finish-line in first place, finishing with a time of 29:56.
In the women's race, Minnesota won the team title with a total of 79 points. Illinois finished in second, and Iowa rounded out the top-three finishers. Valley schools Wichita State (10th), Missouri State (13th), Northern Iowa (16th), Drake (19th), Bradley (21st), Southern Illinois (23rd) and Creighton (24th) also participated in the women's race. Iowa's Diane Nukuri won her second-straight regional title in the 6K race, finishing in 19:37.
