Oct. 15, 2010
Final Stats
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's cross country team took eighth place at the 8K Bradley Classic Friday evening at the Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. The Redbirds finished the 21-team race with 223 team points.
"The guys had a nice improvement from our Louisville meet, and I feel this has been our best race of the year," said head coach Jeff Bovee. "We feel good with our performance today, but we need to keep improving and get back to work in order to be ready for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships."
Senior Matt Mroczynski was the first Redbird across the finish line for the fourth-straight meet. The Pulaski, Wis., native finished the race in 24:23 and in sixth place. Senior Jon Roberts, who was running in his first race of the 2010 season, crossed the finish line in 32nd place with a time of 25:00. Junior Jim Link finished the race in 25:16 for 43rd place.
"Jon ran a personal-best time, and he surpassed my expectations of where he would be in his first race of the season," said Bovee. "He was a big boost for the men's team. Matt ran one of the best times of his career today. Matt has great momentum going into the MVC Championships, and he has a chance to compete for an individual win, which is something any senior wants to finish their career with. Jim keeps getting better each week. He ran an all-time personal-best today."
Sophomore Blake Brooks finished the race in 25:40 and in 69th place, while junior John Navarro crossed the finish line in 25:56 for 87th place. Sophomore Mat Smoody ran the race in a time of 25:59, while freshman Erik Stanton crossed the finish line in 26:26. Sophomore Steven Regan wrapped up the Redbird lineup after ending the race in 27:15.
Iowa won the meet with a team score of 67 followed by Missouri Valley Conference rival Southern Illinois in second place with 105 points. Rounding out the top-three teams was Iowa State with 143 points.
The Illinois State women's cross country team will compete Saturday morning at the NCAA Pre-Nationals beginning at 10 a.m.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
