NORMAL, Ill. – Freshmen Ailey Mitchell and Charlie Wetzel led Illinois State at the MVC Cross Country Championships, finishing eighth and 13th, respectively, to earn All-MVC and All-MVC Honorable Mention honors on Friday afternoon at Weibring Golf Course.
"I felt like we competed really hard," Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jeff Bovee said. "We were really solid across the board from one to eight. In these [rainy] conditions, sometimes it can be difficult for athletes to be at their best, but I felt like we handled it as well as we possibly could have."
Mitchell earned All-MVC First Team honors, finishing in the top-10 of the women's 6K to lead the Redbirds to a third-place team finish. Her time of 21:27.3 was a new personal best and ranks as the 10th-fastest time in school history. The Redbirds third-place team finish was also their highest since 2018.
"I'm really happy for Ailey," Bovee said. "She's an incredibly hard worker and she was rewarded for that today."
Juniors Caroline Meyers and Rachel Hickey were the next to cross the finish line for ISU, finishing in 13th and 14th, respectively to earn All-MVC Honorable Mention honors. Meyers earned All-Valley honors in just her first season as a Redbird and set a new personal best with a time of 21:43.3 in the 6K.
For the second time in her career, Hickey was named to the All-MVC Honorable Mention team, having also earned the honors on the 2020-21 campaign. In 2019, Hickey earned All-Valley First Team honors with an eighth-place finish.
"On the women's side, our depth was fantastic," Bovee said. "On both sides, we have a lot of really good pieces to the puzzle, and as we continue to build, I think we're going to put a great showing out there at the NCAA Regional in two weeks and into the future."
Freshman Ashely Heagy set a new personal best with a time of 22:23.1, finishing 26th overall and fourth for the 'Birds. To round out the scoring, freshman Lucie Grandjean clocked in with a time of 22:29.3 to place 29th. The remaining Redbirds – Kaitlin Skeate, Claire Fuhlhage and Maddi Exline – all finished in the top-50.
On the men's side, it was Wetzel who paced Illinois State for the third time this season, as he led the Redbird men to a fourth-place time finish. His time of 25:07.7 was good for 13th, as he earned All-MVC Honorable Mention honors. Wetzel previously earned All-Valley honors last season.
"For the men, coming off an MVC Championship last year and graduating some of those seniors, we knew that we were going to rebuilding a little bit," Bovee said. "We have a younger team, but I thought we did really well."
Just four seconds behind Wetzel was junior Matt Blanco, who clocked in with a time of 25:11.9 to finish 15th overall and earn All-MVC Honorable Mention honors for the second time in his career. Blanco's 15th-place finish was his highest finish in an MVC Championship race since 2019, when he finished 11th.
"Matt Blanco had his race of the year," Bovee said. "He loves conference meets and muddy ones. Two years ago, it was a really sloppy course at Valparaiso, and he finished 11th. He's a mudder for sure."
Lucas Capistrant was the third Redbird to cross the finish line, as he finished 22nd overall in a time of 25:30.6, six seconds off his personal best. Capistrant recorded his highest MVC Championship finish ever, after placing 40th at the 2020-21 championship race.
Redshirt senior Jake Gillum and freshman Zachary Loomis finished 33rd and 34th, respectively, to round out the scoring for the ISU men. Sophomore Riley Wells and freshman Charlie Kistner placed 36th and 47th, as all Redbirds finished in the top-50.
UP NEXT
The Redbirds travel to Iowa City, Iowa for the NCAA Midwest Regional in two weeks on Friday, Nov. 12. The action from the Ashton Burke Cross Country Course is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. CT.
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