Oct. 4, 2011
ST. LOUIS -
In only her third race as a member of the Illinois State women's cross country team, junior Elise Sigg was named the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Week, as announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon.
The Mineral Point, Wis., native ran to a 28th-place finish in a stacked field of 262 participants spanning across 30 teams, many of which are nationally and regionally ranked, at the Greater Louisville Classic, Saturday, Oct. 1. Her 17:42.11 5K time came on a narrow course that yields many windy turns and tough dips. Her performance helped the women's team to a seventh-place finish overall in the Gold Division race.
The Redbirds finished the meet behind then ranked No. 12 Michigan (NCAA I), No. 3 Ferris State (NCAA II), Ole Miss, Purdue, South Florida and Alabama.
Freshman Ryan Rutherford also earned a mention as a notable performer from last week. He led the Redbird men, crossing the finish line in 38th-place overall with a personal-best time of 24:51.50 in the men's 8K event. He broke his previous best by 4.5 seconds, set just two weeks ago on a course that was much easier, as this one was narrow and yielded many turns and dips. This was only his third race at the 8K distance of his career, breaking the 25-minute mark in his last two endeavors.
The Illinois State cross country teams return to action Oct. 14, as they travel to Peoria, Ill., to compete in the Bradley Classic. The starting time is set for 4 p.m.
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