NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State University Cross Country team swept its home meet of the 2024 season Friday evening at the Weibring Golf Club.
The Redbirds swept the event as the women's and men's teams secured first-place finishes at the Redbird Invite. The women's team finished with a point total of 23 while the men's squad earned a 29-point.Â
Senior Mattison Plummer led the way for the Redbirds in the women's 6,000-meter race with a mark of 21:31.10 to secure a first-place finish. Senior Lauren Schulze recorded a personal best time of 21:50.90 to earn a third-place finish. Freshmen Astrid Van Breedam impressed in her collegiate debut earning a fifth-place finish with a mark of 21:59.30.
Senior Mathis Chavand followed Plummer to record a first-place finish in both the women's and men's races for Illinois State. Chavand recorded a personal best time in 8,000 meters with a mark of 23:57.20. Senior Zack Loomis helped notch a 1-2 finish for the Redbirds, finishing at 24:18.30. Junior Yusuf Baig earned a personal best time of 24:44.00 to finish sixth.
Director of Track & Field/XC Jeff Bovee on the women's race…
"Solid day.. One of our best season debuts on the women's side in quite a while. Felt like we did a great job of executing the plan of packing up in our groups. We got through halfway rather intact the way we were planning. We split up a little bit in the second half. We dropped back around 4 to 5k, we didn't look the way we would want to be. But, then we charged home really well in the last 1000-meters. They closed in a fantastic way."
Director of Track & Field/XC Jeff Bovee on the men's race…
"We got out and had a nice pack out front through the first 3,000 meters, we had three nice groups. Around 4000 meters we started to come apart a little bit. They did a good job at least when they started to move they were with at least one other person. Even though we weren't able to keep our packs as big as we were planning, we still were able to find someone to run with. A lot of positives there, definitely a strong good race for the guys. But for both teams, we are going to enjoy this but we have to focus on the next race at Missouri and get a lot better there."
MEN'S 8K RESULTS – 1st Place (29 points)
- Mathis Chavand, 23:57.200 (PR) // 2. Zack Loomis, 24:18.30 (PR) // 6. Yusuf Baig, 24:44.00 (PR) // 8. William Sinclair 24:48.90 // 15. Nick Doud, 25:14.20 // 16. Julian Baker, 25:23.80 // 19. Blake Oleson, 25:28.20 // 23. Nathan Virginelli, 25:26.00 (PR) // 27. Dylan Myers, 26:10.70 // 28. Luke Barham, 26:11.00 // 33. Charlie Kistner, 26:23.50 // 36. Will Gelon, 26:35.50 // 37. Ethan Reynoso, 26:37.70 // 44. Garrett Slack, 26:59.00 // 58. Owen O'Shea, 27:31.50 // Carter Smott, DQ // Jeff Luka, DNFÂ
WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS- 1st Place (23 points)
- Mattison Plummer, 21:31.10 //Â 3. Lauren Schulze 21:50.90 (PR) // 5. Astrid Van Breedam, 21:58.30 // 6. Maggie Reed, 22:00.00 (PR) // 8. Grace Erb, 22:16.40 (PR) // 24. Viviana Sanfilippo, 23:15.70 // 27. Kaitlin Skeate, 23:24.90 // 30. Trixie Johnson, 23:37.90 (PR) // 36. Ashlyn Smith, 23:46.40 // 52. Amanda Pocica, 25:03.20Â
UP NEXT
The Redbirds are set to travel to Columbia, Mo. to compete in the Gans Creek Classic hosted by the University of Missouri. The event is set to begin at 9 a.m.
