VALPARAISO, Ind. – Sophomores Rachel Hickey and Matt Blanco led Illinois State at the MVC Cross Country Championships, finishing eighth and 11th overall to earn All-MVC and All-MVC Honorable Mention honors on Saturday morning at Sunset Hill Farm County Park.
In addition to her All-MVC honor, Hickey was also awarded the MVC Elite 17 Award which honors the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average competing at the finals site at each of the MVC's 17 team championships. Hickey, who is a double-major in Marketing and Journalism has a 4.0 cumulative grade point average.
The men's 8K race kicked off the day where the Redbird men finished sixth as a team. Blanco led the Redbirds and never dropped out of the top-15 throughout the race, finishing with a time of 25:27.99 for his second-fastest time of the season and the first All-MVC Honorable Mention honor of his career.
Junior Jack Anstey was the next Redbird to finish for the men, placing 18th overall with a time of 25:38.72.
The next five runners for ISU finished within nine places of each other led by junior Jake Gillum with a 35th-place finish. Freshman Tyler Klouda followed in 37th, while sophomore Lucas Capistrant and freshmen Riley Wells and Tyler Polak rounded out the group placing 40th, 42nd and 44th overall, respectively.
Sophomore Timothy Stevenson was the final Redbird to finish on the men's side, placing 67th overall.
Hickey's eighth-place finish overall led the Redbird women to a fourth-place finish as a team, one behind their finish a year ago. The Peru, Illinois, native posted a time of 18:35.07 on the extremely wet and muddy course to earn her second All-MVC cross country honor.
Redshirt-junior Grace Beattie and senior Kennidi Knoblock both recorded top-25 finishes for the Redbirds with Beattie placing 23rd and Knoblock following closely behind in 25th. Senior Annie Moore improved her place by two from the halfway mark, finishing 30th overall in the final conference meet of her cross country career.
Illinois State's final four finishers on the women's side all crossed the finish line within 11 spots of each other. Freshman Mackenzie Brownrigg was the fifth 'Bird to finish and placed 49th overall in her first MVC Championship meet.
Seniors Phoebe Clowser and Hattie Plumb finished 53rd and 56th, while sophomore Maddi Exline posted a 60th-place finish as the final ISU finisher.
UP NEXT
The 'Birds will compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday, Nov. 15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The first race will begin at 11 a.m.
