NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State men's cross country team used personal-best performances from Kevin Koski, Cody Baele, and Jack Anstey to win Friday's Illinois State Invite and defend their home course at the Weibring Golf Club. The Redbird women also had a strong showing, placing third.
"We raced tonight the way that we have been training, packing up and running tight, and I am extremely pleased," said Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jeff Bovee. "Our goal was to be controlled early, and considering that we had five guys in the lead pack through the first 5K, I think we executed that well. I am proud of the team race that we ran, and I am very happy with Koski's performance. He looked strong throughout the entire race, and today was a breakthrough for him."
Led by Koski, the Illinois State men placed their first five finishers in the top-20. Koski (25:18.00), Baele (25:18.40), and Anstey (25:21.10) were the fourth, fifth, and sixth student-athletes, respectively, to complete the 8K course. All three of these marks are personal-records. For Koski, this outstanding performance comes in his first race back after redshirting the 2018 outdoor track & field season.
Rounding out the field for the Redbird men were Kyle Mattes, who notched a top-10 finish of his own, placing ninth in 25:30.60, and Lucas Capistrant. Running in only his second collegiate race, Capistrant ran with confidence, finishing 17th with a time of 26:04.20.
"I was very pleased with Capistrant," said Bovee. "He is a freshman, and to come out and be our fifth runner today was fantastic. He helped us secure a team victory, and that was beyond exciting to witness."
The Redbird men finished with only 41 points, besting second-place North Central (48 points) by seven points. Missouri rounded out the top-three, finishing third with 72 points.
The Illinois State women, who finished third, were led by freshman Rachel Hickey's top-10 finish. The 'Birds, who tallied 89 points, captured victories over Eastern Illinois and UIC. Missouri (20 points) won the meet, while Loyola placed second with 50 points.
"We knew Hickey was going to be a force on the track, but she is starting to become a strong cross country runner as well," said Bovee. "She is really coming into her own, and I'm very pleased with the progress that she has made up to this point. I was also happy with Phoebe Clowser's performance, as she bounced back nicely today. We have some work to do in tightening up our two-three gap, and we are looking forward to working on this at Notre Dame in a few weeks."
Hickey was the first Redbird, and the 10th overall student-athlete, to complete the women's 5K race, notching a time of 18:26.50. The remainder of the Illinois State point-scorers all finished in the top-25 of the field. Kennidi Knoblock was the second ISU finisher, placing 16th with a time of 19:03.02.
Completing the top-five was Clowser (19:10.60), Audrey Janik (19:12.10), and Annie Moore (19:17.50), who finished 20th, 21st, and 22nd, respectively.
On the day, there was one additional personal-best performance for the Redbirds, as Jake Gillum completed the men's 8K in a personal-record 26:22.00.
The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 28 when they travel to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invitational.
For all the latest updates on the Redbird Track & Field and Cross Country program, follow @Redbird_TrackXC on Twitter.
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