NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Illinois State cross country team opened the 2021 spring season at the Lipscomb Winter Classic where seniors Kevin Koski and Grace Beattie each posted top-five individual performances to lead the Redbirds.
Koski stayed up in the leading pack for the majority of the race before falling to fifth toward the end of the 8K. He was the first Missouri Valley Conference student-athlete to cross the finish line, clocking in at 24:23.6, which is his fastest time in a Redbird uniform.
Freshman Charlie Wetzel was the second finisher for the ISU men, placing 15th with a time of 25:19.4 in his first collegiate cross country race. Coming in the third and fourth spots for the 'Birds were Tyler Polak and TJ Stevenson, finishing within one second of each other. The pair placed 31st and 32nd overall, crossing the finish line in 26:05.4 and 26:05.5, respectively. Sophomore Andrew Englert rounded out the top-five ISU finishers in 43rd place overall.
The men's team finished fifth with a team score of 126.
On the women's side, Beattie opened the season with her fastest 5K cross country time in an Illinois State uniform, placing fifth with a time of 17:34.6. She was the third MVC student-athlete to finish, placing behind two Loyola runners.
Juniors Rachel Hickey (18:12.7) and Maddi Exline (18:29.3) were the next two 'Birds to cross the finish line, placing 18th and 24th overall. Exline ran the best cross country race of her collegiate career, posting a 30-second personal best. Wrapping up the top-five for ISU were two student-athletes competing in their first cross country race as a Redbird. Freshman Ailey Lindemann-Mitchell (18:47.7) and redshirt-freshman Emma Argo (19:05.5) placed 31st and 33rd overall.
As a group the women's team placed fifth with 111 points.
QUOTES FROM DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY
On the men's performances:
"Kevin Koski coming back after a redshirt year, establishing himself as one of the top guys in the Missouri Valley. He ran up there with two of the top guys in the country for most of the race and he looks to be set up for a great season."
"Charlie Wetzel ran outstanding for his first collegiate cross country race. Being a local product, you get excited about him being from the Bloomington-Normal area – he's got a bright future ahead of him."
On Grace Beattie's performance:
"Grace definitely ran her best season debut. I think there's definitely more there for her. I see her being able to run against the top competitors in the conference here in the next month."
On competing again:
"Overall, I was pleased with the women as young as we are, I think it was a pretty solid start for us. I think we can make significant progress in the coming weeks. It was just great to be out there competing again. We had to go quite a bit south to find the right weather, but it was a great day for us."
UP NEXT
Illinois State's next cross country race isn't until Wednesday, March 3 when the Redbirds will compete for a conference title at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Evansville, Indiana.
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