Redbirds Paced by Hickey and Klouda in Joe Piane Invitational

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Junior Rachel Hickey and sophomore Tyler Klouda were the top finishers for the Redbirds in their respective races on Friday afternoon at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational from South Bend, Indiana.

In the women's gold division race, Hickey finished 28^th overall in her first 5K race of the season, clocking in at 18:08.0.

Sophomore Ashley Heagy was the next Redbird to cross the finish line, as she set a personal best with a time of 18:28.5, nearly 40 seconds faster than her previous best. Hickey and Heagy, who both hail from Peru, Illinois and competed at the same high school, finished 1-2 overall for the Redbirds.

In her first season as a transfer student, Caroline Meyers also set a personal best on the race with her time of 18:45.0, a full minute faster than her previous best time that she set at UMKC.

Finishing in fourth for the 'Birds was freshman Matti Plummer, who clocked in with a time of 18:47.7. In the final 1,000 meters of the race, Plummer kicked it into high gear, as she passed 33 runners to finish 77^th overall.

To round out the scoring for the women, sophomore Ailey Mitchell finished in a time of 18:51.9, as the Redbird finished 14^th overall out of 24 teams.

In his first cross country race of the season, Klouda clocked in at 25:31.3 to finish 37^th overall in the men's 8K gold division race.

Freshman Charlie Wetzel was ISU's second scorer, clocking in soon after Klouda in a time of 25:54.0.

Ellesmere Port, England native, Joseph Morrison finished in a time of 26:10.0, as Lucas Capistrant and Jake Gillum rounded out the scoring for the Redbirds. The ISU men finished 11^th overall out of 21 teams in the gold division race.

UP NEXT

The Redbirds are set to travel to Peoria, Illinois for the Bradley Pink Classic on Friday, Oct. 15. Following the meet in Peoria, ISU will make one final regular season trip to Champaign for the Illini Invite before returning home to host the 2021 MVC Championships on Friday, Oct. 29.

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