MEN'S RESULTS / WOMEN'S RESULTS
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's cross country team won the 8K team title by a margin of 30 points at Friday's Illini Open in Champaign, Illinois. The women also gave a strong effort, placing third out of five teams.
The men, whose top-five runners all placed in the top-20 individually, were led by freshman Jack Anstey. The first Redbird to cross the finish line, Anstey's time of 26:17.60 was good for seventh overall in a field of 45 runners.
He was followed by Kevin Koski, who placed 11th with a time of 26:38.80. Connor Ehnle, Ethan Kirk, and J.D. LaFayette rounded out the scoring for the 'Birds, placing 14th, 16th, and 17th, respectively.
As a team, the Redbirds' 19 points bested second-place Butler (49) and third-place Eastern Illinois (69), with four other teams traveling partial rosters.
On the women's side, the trio of Kennidi Knoblock, Sydney Billingsley, and Audrey Janik were a force to be reckoned with. Racing side by side over the course of the 5,000-meters, the three led the team to victories over Illinois and Northern Illinois en route to a third place finish.
Knoblock was the first Redbird to cross the finish line, breaking away from her teammates to finish seventh overall with a time of 18:55.20. Billingsley and Janik were right behind, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively.
Completing the scoring for ISU were Annie Moore and Sarah Voss, whose time of 19:59.00 marks a new personal-best. Freshman Meagan Biddle also ran a solid race for the 'Birds, posting a new personal-record of 20:00.60. This time beats her previous personal-best by 56 seconds.
Illinois State will be back in action on Saturday, October 28 when they compete in the MVC Championships, hosted by Missouri State University, in Springfield, Missouri.
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