PEORIA, Ill. – Illinois State Cross Country had 16 runners record personal-best times on Friday afternoon at the Bradley Pink Classic from Newman Golf Course.
In the women's red race, Illinois State finished sixth out of 37 teams and was led by freshman Ailey Mitchell, who placed 19th overall with a 6K time of 21:30.2, a new personal best by nine seconds. The race also marked the second time this season that Mitchell paced the 'Birds, first doing so at the Redbird Invite.
"Today was a positive step in the right direction," Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "On the women's side, we definitively had a really solid race. This group has a lot of potential. We're very deep and that's a staple of our team right now. We're heading into conference on the right note, and we're looking forward to coming in strong as we get into the postseason."
Junior Rachel Hickey was the second ISU runner to cross the finish line, clocking in with a time of 21:38.0, a new personal best, to place 29th overall. Hickey previously set a personal best of 21:46.6 at the 2018 NCAA Midwest Regional.
Juniors Caroline Meyers and Claire Fuhlhage, who both transferred from UMKC this season, finished 45th and 70th, respectively. With her third-place finish on the team, Meyers has now finished in the top-5 in each of ISU's four races this season.
To round out the scoring in the women's red race, Maddi Exline was the fifth Illinois State runner to cross the finish line, beating her previous personal best by nearly 20 seconds with time of 22:23.4.
Also setting new personal bests were freshmen Lucie Grandjean and Ashley Heagy. Grandjean finished 87th overall with a time of 22:25.0. Heagy was right behind to finish 88th in a time of 22:25.5.
In the men's red race, Illinois State was led by freshman Charlie Wetzel, who finished 52nd overall in a time of 25:02.2. For the second time this season, Wetzel paced the 'Birds.
"On the men's side, coming into this, we really wanted to focus on having a good team race," Bovee said. "We're still not at full strength, but I feel like we're a lot closer. Today was a testament to that, as our one to five gap was only 26 seconds. The guys built up a lot of positive momentum today. We're in a really good place to just keep getting better."
Junior Lucas Capistrant and senior Jake Gillum both set personal-best times in the men's red race. Capistrant placed 70th overall in a time of 25:14.3, shaving over 25 seconds off his previous best. Gillum's time of 25:16.7 was also a personal best as he finished 78th in his first 8K of the season. Matt Blanco was the fourth Redbird to cross the finish line, placing 82nd overall in a time of 25:17.7.
In his second collegiate 8K race, freshman Zachary Loomis finished 110th overall in a time of 25:28.7, a full minute faster than his previous best that he set at the Redbird Invite.
Freshman Charlie Kistner and sophomore Riley Wells each cut about 10 seconds off their previous personal bests with times of 25:32.4 and 25:35.5, respectively. The Illinois State men finished 11th out of 31 teams.
In the women's white race, the Redbirds were led by sophomore Mackenzie Brownrigg, who notched a personal best and finished third overall in a time of 22:51.4. With Brownrigg's top-5 finish, ISU finished first among 18 teams in the white race. Freshmen Jenna Gruber and Viviana Sanfilippo also set personal bests.
"Huge props to Mackenzie Brownrigg who set the tone for our whole team in the women's white race," Bovee said. "She set the tone for the women to get the victory. That group is so fun to see, as they really put together a great team race. Mackenzie really put together a good one and she won't turn back from here."
In the men's white race, freshman Julian Head cut over a minute off his pervious personal best with a time of 25:53.9. Sophomore Charles Murphy was the final Redbird to notch a personal best.
UP NEXT
Illinois State closes out the regular season in Champaign, Illinois next weekend at the Illini Invite on Friday, Oct. 22. The Redbirds then return home to host the 2021 MVC Championships on Friday, Oct. 29 to kick off the postseason.
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