NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams head east to Champaign for the Illini Open Friday, as a tune-up for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships Nov. 1.
Race time is slated for 4 p.m. at the Illinois Arboretum with the women running a 5K and the men racing an 8K.
Last weekend the Redbirds proved they are title contenders, with a dominating victory from Ryan Rutherford. The senior standout ran 24:21.6, 19 seconds faster than the second-place finisher Zach Buchheit of Northern Iowa. Rutherford helped his team to its first first-place finish since 2005 when the men's team won the Early Bird Invite.
On the women's side, Kim Christensen is coming off athlete of the week honors, as she raced an eight-second personal-best time of 21:16 to notch an eighth-place overall finish. Kelly McShea and Ariel Michalek also turned in solid performances for the Redbird women with 6K times of 21:25 and 21:28, respectively.
Follow the Redbirds on Twitter @ISU_Track_XC or at the conclusion of the race on www.GoRedbirds.com.
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