Oct. 19, 2013
Men's Results Women's Results
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.-- Ryan Rutherford breaks the Illinois State men's 8K record Saturday afternoon at Pre-Nationals with a time of 23:50, besting the former record by 18 seconds set by Matt Mroczynski in 2008 at the Notre Dame Invite.
With his personal-best run, Rutherford earned a 20th-place finish overall in a competitive field of 359 racers, beating his personal-best time of 24:21 (2013 Country Financial Illinois State Invite) by nearly 30 seconds.
"Ryan is the story of the day for the Redbirds," head coach Jeff Bovee said. "He ran a breakout race of 23:50, which is a school record. He ran a 24:21, on our course at home, which is a relatively fast course compared to this one. He just stuck his nose up their with the top guys in the country. He has established himself now as a guy that can run for an individual berth to the NCAA Championships, which it has been a long time since Illinois State has had one of those. I still think he has a better season ahead of him. I think he has a lot of legs to go, especially in the 10,000-meter distance, which is what he will run at the Midwest Regional and NCAA Championships."
Rutherford and company raced to a 39th-place team finish and a score of 897 in an aggressive field of 52 teams. No. 2 Colorado won the men's division with a total of 90 points and an average time of 23:49.
Tyler Morse was next to finish for the Redbirds notching a time of 25:09, and right behind Morse was Jeff Bajema who finished with an 8K time of 25:12. Sean Senf crossed the finish line third for the Redbirds, picking up a 25:18. Rounding out the Redbird scoring lineup was Dave Eckhart who finished with a time of 25:31.
Paul Steeno finished with a 26:31, and Jesse Hahne notched a 27:41.
"For the men, we had a couple of wins over some Valley teams today, who are currently ranked ahead of us in the regional rankings," Bovee said. "Southern had a great race today. Their top-five are solid and are going to be tough to beat at conference, but are getting better week-to-week."
The Redbird women combined for a team score of 774 to tie with Southern Illinois for 27th-place in a competitive field of 49 teams, while No. 5 Georgetown took home the victory for the women with a team score of 117 and an average time of 20:41.
On the women's side, Rachael Brewer led the way for the Redbirds finishing with a 6K time of 21:09 to capture a 61st-place finish in a field of 340 racers.
Next to cross the finish line for the Redbird women was Kim Christensen who picked up a personal-best time of 21:39, besting her former career-high by nearly 20 seconds. Right behind Christensen was Kristen Zillmer, who also notched a personal-best 6K time. Zillmer raced to a 21:55, bettering her former career-best by 15 seconds.
Haley Goers also finished with a 21:55, only milliseconds behind Zillmer, and rounding out the Redbird scoring lineup was Kelly McShea who finished with a 22:17.
Kaley Ummel finished sixth for the Redbirds with a 6K time of 22:47, while Ellen Devereux notched a 23:12.
As for the remaining members of the Redbird team, the ISU men's team notched a 17th-place finish at the Bradley Classic Friday evening.
Scott Janusick led the way for ISU Friday with an 8K time of 26:02. Next to finish for the Redbirds was Aidan Askin who picked up a time of 26:06. Brendan Hoskins raced to a 26:15 finish. Travis Trevizo finished with a 26:21, and rounding out the Redbird lineup was Ryan Bybee who captured a time of 26:28.
On the women's side, Haley Verbeke led the way for the Redbird women at the Bradley Classic. Verbeke notched a 6K time of 22:08 to finish in 51st in a field of 240 racers.
Next to cross the finish line was Ashley Kamin who picked up a 6K time of 22:50. Krista DeCeault captured a time of 23:00, and Jackie Mink finished with a 23:16. Kimi Sanden picked up a 24:04, and rounding out the Redbird lineup was Sammi Donovan who finished with a 24:08.
The Redbirds are back in action Saturday Nov. 2, when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet. Race time is set for 11 a.m.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
