Eureka Adapts to Unusual Conditions in Greenville
GREENVILLE, Ill. – The Eureka cross country and distance team took on challenging and unusual race conditions at the Greenville Cross Country Invite on Friday.
Due to a rain delay and approaching darkness, the men's race started just seven minutes after the women's race, putting both teams on the course at the same time. It was a wet, rainy, breezy night, but the temperatures were in the 50s and perfect for racing.
Karissa Heffernan (Metamora, Ill./Metamora/Lewis) led the way for the Red Devil women again, placing fourth overall and setting a new 5k personal and record with a time of 19:49.
She was followed by Emily Baker (Washington, Ill./Washington), who set new collegiate 5k PR with a time of 22:26 and took 31st overall.
Sarah Kimbro (Peoria, Ill./Metamora) was the Red Devils' No. 3 for the night. She took 41st in 23:29. Jaden Randall continued to show improvement in the No. 4 spot, finishing 54th in 26:56. Odessa Grove (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) returned from an ankle injury that cut her last race short and came in 62nd in 33:31.
Freshman Jordyn Coppejans (El Paso, Ill./El Paso-Gridley) continued her transition from a 400-meter sprinter to endurance runner. After an injury cut her last race short as well, she ran her most confident race of the year, finishing 63rd in 39:38.
On the men's side, senior Tony DeLira (Chicago, Ill./Alcott/Lincoln) was the top runner once again, finishing 40th with a time of 29:13. Jose Amador (Kempton, Ill./Tri-Point) matched his best time of the season, coming in 63rd in 31:08.
Tucker Williamson (Monticello, Ill./Monticello) took third for the Red Devils and was 73rd overall with a time of 32:37. Michael Beaumont (Greenup, Ill./Cumberland) was just two seconds off his PR, taking 82nd in 33:50, while Gabe Seeber (Champaign, Ill./Champaign Central) rounded out the field for the Red Devils in a big way. The freshman cut over a minute off his PR, finishing 94th in 37:19.
"Having both teams running at the same time, and on a multiple loop course made for a chaotic race," EC cross country coach Chris Robinson said. "It was difficult at times to know exactly how they were performing with each of them in such different points of the race. Overall, they continued to run well and are making steady improvements each race.
"Our goal over the next couple of weeks is to get healthy and focus on having fresh legs going into the SLIAC Conference meet."
The Red Devils have next weekend off. Then, on Saturday, Oct. 28, the Red Devils will go for conference glory at the SLIAC Championships in Litchfield.