SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams each used five personal-best performances to propel themselves into the top-10 at Friday's Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. The Redbird men finished eighth in the 5-Mile Blue Race, while the women placed fifth in the 5K Gold Race.
"Today was an extremely solid race for the guys, and we come out of here having built some momentum," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jeff Bovee. "I don't think we fired on all cylinders, but top-eight was our goal coming into today, and we accomplished that. We had a lot of personal-bests, even on a slower course, so we leave here with a sense of improvement, knowing that we are headed in the right direction."
Competing in a field of 17 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regionally-ranked teams, the ISU men took down nine seeded opponents en route to their eighth place finish. With four Redbirds completing the 5-Mile course in under 25 minutes, Illinois State was able to defeat multiple power-five schools, including ninth-place Iowa, 13th-place California, and 15th-place Oklahoma.
Senior Kyle Mattes, who was the top Redbird finisher, set the pace for Illinois State early on, coming through the first mile at 4:46. He remained steady over the course of the race, crossing the finish line in a season-best 24:28.50 to post a top-25 finish, placing 24th overall.
A trio of Redbirds followed, with Cody Baele (24:35.59), Jack Anstey (24:52.06), and Kevin Koski (24:58.39) all recording personal-bests and breaking the 25-minute mark for the first time of their careers. Baele finished 29th, Anstey 47th, and Koski 57th among a highly-competitive field of 142 runners.
Rounding out the top-five for ISU was Kimathi Johnson, who ran a very focused, well-executed race. He closed extremely well over the last several miles of the race, helping the Redbirds improve from 12th place at the one-mile mark to eighth by the end of the race. Johnson clocked in at a personal-best 25:28.96, improving his personal-record by roughly 34 seconds.
The Illinois State women were just as impressive, taking down SEC foe South Carolina, who placed sixth. The Redbirds were also able to defeat UTEP who, despite having their top-three runners finish 1-2-4, placed ninth overall.
"Audrey Janik had a fantastic day, as she raced with confidence and closed well in just her second race of the season," said Bovee. "Phoebe Clowser also had another strong performance, and is starting to build confidence as well. After today, I definitely think that we have the potential to be a team that can surprise some people by the end of the season."
Janik played a large role in ISU's fifth place finish out of 18 teams in the Gold Race, as she had a breakout day. She was the first Redbird to complete the 5K circuit, breaking the 18-minute barrier for the first time of her career. Her personal-record time of 17:55.05 was not only good for 16th, but it surpassed her previous personal-best by 47 seconds!
Rachel Hickey (18:20.55), Clowser (18:23.62), and Annie Moore (18:26.18) also posted personal-records, finishing 29th, 32nd, and 36th, respectively. Moore's personal-best performance was particularly impressive, as she bested her previous personal-record by 37 seconds! Completing the scoring for the Redbirds was Kennidi Knoblock, who finished 45th in 18:39.53.
Other Personal-Best Performances
Men's 5-Mile Blue Race
99th - Brett Haffner (25:46.26)
Men's 5-Mile Open Race
26th - Matt Blanco (26:08.22)
43rd - Timothy Stevenson (26:53.61)
Women's 5K Gold Race
104th - Kassye Todd (19:39.23)
The Illinois State men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action two weeks from today, when they split forces and travel to two different meets. The majority of the squad will head to nearby Peoria, Illinois, to compete in the Bradley Classic on Oct. 12. The remainder of the team will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to race in the NCAA Pre-Nationals, hosted by Wisconsin, on Oct. 13.
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