NJCAA Region 24 Meet - Lincoln

Both the men's and women's teams finished second in the regional meet at Lincoln last night. Both races were won by the highly ranked Rend Lake teams. The women gave Rend all they could handle with all 6 runners scoring major PRs and placing 3 in the top 8 and 5 in the top 15. Brittany Carius (3rd) came within 2 seconds of a school record with her 19:04 time and Bonni Martin (5th) became the fourth fastest Cougar ever with her 19:42. Alyssa Imig ran for the first time in a month and recorded a 20:15 PR in 8th place. Completing the PR sweep were Carrie Bunting (20:39), Olivia Coker (20:57), and Elizabeth Isbell (21:32). The ladies are definitely ready for nationals.

Shane Leiby and Billy Miller led the men to a second place finish by medalling in 7th and 9th places, respectively. Rend Lake took 4 of the top 5, and 5 of the top 8 to take the title. Frederick Kiprono scored a season best with 28:07 in 14th, just ahead of Michael Donini with 28:11 in 15th. Bobby Deatherage again secured the 5th spot with a PR 28:21 in 17th place. Seven Cougars ran 28:42 or better.

Running his last race as a Cougar was Nick Reed, who took 51 seconds off his best with a 30:48.

Adam Howe also ran a big PR in his third race with his 35:36

Next Race: Nationals, November 8 at Spartanburg, SC.

Knox College Prairie Fire Invitational

The men's and women's cross country teams tuned up for next week's regional meet by running to overwhelming victories at the Knox College Prairie Fire Invitational. Running against just Knox and Carl Sandburg, the men swept 8 of the top 10 places for a 15-50 shutout of Knox. Shane Leiby was the individual winner in a time of 27:28. He was followed by Billy Miller in second. Huge PR's were registered by Bobby Deatherage and Nick Reed, with Frederick Kiprono and Adam Howe also recording seasonal bests.
Brittany Carius won the women's race in a fine 24:06, with a smiling Bonni Martin running a PR 24:38 in second. Carrie Bunting took the 5th spot and Olivia Coker recorded a personal best 26:10 in 6th. Elizabeth Isbell rounded out the scoring in 11th place. The 25 points recorded by the team easily bested Knox's 41 in second and Sandburg's 59 in third.
Both teams seem primed for a good showing at the Regional Meet, which will take place on Friday in Lincoln.

Benedictine Eagle Invitational - Lisle, IL

Running with 4 healthy bodies and a gutsy Elizabeth Isbell (left), the ICC women were a close second to Beloit College at the Benedictine Eagle Invitational. Despite running with sore achilles tendons, Liz placed 45th of 105 runners. The team's 88 points were just 3 behind the winner's total. Brittany Carius, Bonni Martin, Carrie Bunting, and Olivia Coker were all award winners by placing 3rd, 5th, 16th, and 21st. Two award plaques were brought home by the team - second overall and first in the Junior College division.

Also bringing home the JC award for the second straight year was the men's team that placed 4th overall. They were led by individual award winners Shane Leiby in 10th place, and Billy Miller in 22nd. Frederick Kiprono in 29th, Michael Donini in 39th, and Robert Deatherage in 47th completed the scoring.

The teams next compete in the Knox College invite in Galesburg on Saturday, October 18.