IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Illinois State University Cross Country team completed its first race of the 2024 season, Friday afternoon at the Hawkeye Invitational at the Ashton Cross Country Course.
Sophomore Trixie Johnson paced the Redbirds in the women's race with a mark of 15:34.7 to finish 26th. Freshman Madison Harmsen kicked off her college career with a time of 16:07.7 to cross the line 34th, the highest finisher amongst freshmen. Freshmen Ashlyn Smith (16:26.6) and Amanda Pocica (16:50.4) also made their collegiate debuts.
Sophomore Blake Oleson led the way on the men's side, setting a mark of 18:46.0 to earn a 19th place finish. Freshman Julian Baker set the fastest pace amongst the rookie class with a time of 18:52.0. The freshman pairing of Luke Barham (19:16.1) and Will Gelon (19:17.5) stood out in their debuts with top 30 finishes.
Director of Track & Field/XC Jeff Bovee on Sophomore Trixie Johnson's performance…
"Really pleased with Trixie (Johnson) today, she made a nice improvement from a year ago. She showed a lot of leadership with the young middle-distance women that we brought here. They've got some great experience and a great way to start the year with a shortened race, especially with how warm it is this time of year. From start to finish, she got everybody prepared mentally and physically prepared for the competition. She was leading the way in all those different categories."
Director of Track & Field/XC Jeff Bovee on the men's performance…
"We had a pretty good nucleus of young guys, all freshmen and sophomores. Trying to get our younger guys some good and early-season experience. Bradley and Iowa brought their full squads. Our young guys did very well and had a small gap. We got to do a better job packing up and staying together. I thought we got separated too early today. The pace got hot early today, the pace at the first 1k was 2:52 by the front guys, and our team got pulled out. That made it tougher for everybody to stay together as long as we wanted. However, they managed well and we leave here accomplishing a lot of great things as we look towards the home meet in two weeks."
MEN'S 6K RESULTS – 5th Place (115 points)
19. Blake Oleson 18:46.0 // 21. Julian Baker, 18:52.0 // 23. Ethan Reynoso 18:59.9 // 29. Luke Barham, 19:16.1 // 30. Will Gelon, 19:17.5 // 31. Dylan Myers, 19:20.8 // 32. Nathan Virginelli, 19:28.8 // 34. Josh Weeks, 19:38.4 // 39. Garrett Slack, 20:15.3 // 40. Owen O'Shea, 20:19.7 // 45. Carter Smott, 20:36.1
WOMEN'S 4K RESULTS
26. Trixie Johnson, 15:34.7 // 34. Madison Harmsen, 16:07.7 // 36. Ashlyn Smith, 16:26.6 // 37. Amanda Pocica 16:50.4
UP NEXT
The Redbirds return home to host the Redbird Invite, on Friday, September 13 at the Weibring Golf Course, starting at 5 p.m.
