RESULTS
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams squared off with over 100 teams from all over the nation Friday at the 61st Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. Junior Lindsey Lewis led the women's team for the second consecutive week, as she finished first for the Redbirds in the women's 5,000-meter with a personal-best time of 17:54. Standout Kyle Mattes notched 12th place in the men's five-mile run with a time of 24:59.
"Lindsey Lewis had another breakthrough performance and smashed her personal best to lead the team," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "I am so incredibly proud of her and the commitment that she makes to this sport and to the team."
Also on men's side in the five-mile run, senior Jeff Bajema posted a strong performance, as he finished 19th with a season-best time of 25:11. Junior Paul Steeno finished third for the Redbirds with a season-best time of 25:48, while the freshmen duo Kevin Koski (25:55) and Brian Sodaro (25:59) also competed in the race.
"We are slowly moving in the right direction from meet-to-meet but still trying to get firing on all cylinders," Bovee said. "Mattes and Bajema worked well together up front, and ran very well. Koski and Hahne were pinched off at the start and went toward the back. They battled back up to position for miles two and three, but their extra efforts mid race really hurt them later on. I was very pleased with freshman Brian Sodaro's race."
For the women, freshman Grace Beattie and veteran Ariel Michalek worked together throughout the race. Beattie posted a time of 18:09.6, while Michalek picked up a time at 18:09.9. Erica Brown ran a strong race, as she finished with a time at 18:21. Freshman Phoebe Clowser earned a time at 18:29.
"Another big surprise for us was the racing of walk-on freshman Grace Beattie" Bovee said. "She is making a name for herself and is making impressive improvements every race."
In the men's gold five-mile race, Utah Valley (114) earned first place, followed by Duquesne (120) and IUPUI (141), respectively. ISU men's team notched seventh place with 245 points. In the women's 5,000-meter race, Bradley (103) placed first, followed by Notre Dame (171) in second, while UTEP (178) notched third in a tiebreaker against Oakland. ISU women's team finished in 11th in a tiebreaker with IUPUI with a total of 316 points.
"Overall, the women raced better this week, but like the men, we have much more room for improvement," Bovee said. "We need to really take advantage of every week of training that we have the rest of the way this season to reach our goals."
Both the men's and women's teams are back in action Oct. 14-15, as they compete in the Bradley Classic and Pre-NCAA.
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