COLUMBIA, Mo. – On an extremely hot Friday evening, sophomore Rachel Hickey and junior Jake Gillum were the top finishers for Illinois State at the Gans Creek Classic at the Gans Creek Recreation Area in Columbia, Missouri.
Hickey paced with women with a 17th-place finish in the 6K, clocking in at 22:37.8. The duo of redshirt-junior Grace Beattie and senior Annie Moore were the next two ISU athletes to cross the finish line, coming in at 39th and 40th, respectively.
With four athletes finishing in the top-50, the Illinois State women finished fifth as a team with 162 points. The Redbirds topped MVC foes, Southern Illinois and Drake.
Gillum finished 33rd in the men's 8K to lead the Illinois State men with a time of 26:34.9. Not far behind him was sophomore Matt Blanco, finishing 37th overall with a time of 26:48.1.
The sophomore duo of Timothy Stevenson and Lucas Capistrant posted top-50 performances, coming in at 46th and 49th, respectively.
The Redbird men finished seventh as a team with 207 points, topping Valley opponent Southern Illinois.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds have three weeks without a competition before their next meet on Friday, Oct. 18 at the Bradley Classic.
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