COLUMBIA, Mo. – Five different Redbird runners: Tyler Klouda, Baptiste Tardiveau, Zack Loomis, Mathis Chavand, and Caroline Meyers, etched their names inside of the top-10 record books in Illinois State history on Friday morning, as the squad took part in the NCAA Midwest Regional, hosted by the University of Missouri.
Both Klouda and Meyers recorded the fifth-fastest times of their respective race lengths, while Baptiste Tardiveau and Zack Loomis raced to the sixth and seventh-fastest 10,000-meter times in program history, while Mathis Chavand now has the 10th-fastest 10k in program history.
The Redbird women placed 14th while the men took 13th in the field of 32 and 27 teams, respectively.
Four Redbird men set personal-bests, with the remaining three runners running in their first collegiate 10k. Klouda's time of 30:37.1 placed him 54th overall and was over two minutes faster than his previous best 10,000-meter time. Baptiste Tardiveau's time of 30:43.0 placed him 60th in the deep field in his first time running a collegiate 6.2-mile race.
Loomis topped his previous career best by over two minutes during the Regional, running a time of 30:43.2, placing 62nd in the field, as Chavand's time of 30:49.9 saw him finish 69th in his inaugural 10k cross country race. Charlie Wetzel placed 119th for the Redbirds in a time of 31:29.9, over a minute better than his previous lowest 10k time, as Tyler Polak's 31:39.8 was just under two minutes better than his previous best at the distance, placing 127th. Freshman Yusuf Baig took 167th in a time of 32:22.9.
Meyers' time of 21:02.4 is a career-best, as she becomes the fifth fastest 6k runner in program history with the time, which placed her 44th in the extensive field of runners. Rachel Hickey closed her stellar and historic cross country career by placing 92nd in a time of 21:41.7, her fastest time of the season, and the fourth time in her career that she has eclipsed the 22-minute plateau for the 6,000-meters.
Mattison Plummer had a 54-second personal best in breaking the 22-minute barrier for the first time in her career, placing third on the team and 98th in the field with a time of 21:46.2. Ailey Mitchell was the team's fourth finisher, crossing the line in the 6k race in 21:51.9, 111th in the overall field, while Claire Fuhlhage rounded out the scoring five for the Redbirds in a time of 22:16.3, placing 138th.
Maddi Exline (140th, 22:17.3) and Lauren Schulze (156th, 22:36.0) rounded out the seven Redbird runners in the field of 233 competitors.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
