Red Devils Start Spring Strong at Principia Relays

ELSAH, Ill. – The Eureka cross country and distance team officially opened the spring indoor season with a bang at the Principia Relays on Saturday.

Freshman Rachel Fisher (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) topped a field of primarily Division II runners in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:23.62, setting a new personal record and claiming Eureka's first win in a spring distance event since 2018.

She later posted another personal record in the 300, taking ninth overall in 45.55. It was the second-best time among D3 and St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference runners.

Sophomore Karissa Heffernan (Metamora, Ill./Metamora/Lewis) took runner-up in the 3,000-meter run and placed fourth in the mile.

The mile was her first race of the day, and she opened with a smart race, positioning herself with the lead group and recording a new personal record of 5:29.86. It was the top finish among SLIAC and D3 runners and it was eight seconds off her previous best set at the Titan First Chance in December.

Later, she matched Missouri S-T's Grace Giesler's stride-for-stride for the first 15 laps of the 3,000. Giesler found a second gear and pulled away in the last two laps, but Heffernan finished second in 11:12 in her first time ever competing in the event.

Sarah Kimbro (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) also competed in the mile and showed improvement from last season. She came in 31st in 6:56.05 compared to her previous mark of 6:57.11 at the 2022 SLIAC indoor championships.

On the men's side, freshman Jose Amador (Kempton, Ill./Tri-Point) and junior newcomer Khalil Alleyne (Diego Martin, Trinidad/Fatima College) competed together for the first time and turned in strong performances in the mile and the 300.

In the mile, Alleyne – a soccer standout making his distance debut – stayed with Amador during the early laps before falling back. Amador finished 28th in 5:08.99 and Alleyne came in 31st in 5:17.60. The top 24 all finished in less than five minutes.

"Jose and Khalil worked really well together in the mile, and I see both of them getting stronger as the season goes," EC cross country and distance coach Chris Robinson said. "Sub-5 is in reach for both of them as their confidence grows." 

Alleyne finished 26th in 41.81, Amador came in 29th in 42.94 and Hayden Skaggs (Mansfield, Texas/Mansfield) took 34th in 52.95.

Skaggs previously opened the day for the men with the 500, taking 23rd in 1:34.47.

At the end of the day, Tony DeLira (Chicago, Ill./Alcott/Lincoln) wrapped up the meet with a strong showing in the 3000. He beat his personal best by five seconds and finished 12th overall against a competitive field in 9:55.56. It was the third-best time among SLIAC competitors.

The Red Devils competed on Saturday without freshman Bailey Webster (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) due to a minor knee injury, and Odessa Grove (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) and Jaden Randall (Secor, Ill./Roanoke-Benson) due to their involvement in the theatre production of "Promises, Promises."

"Overall, Coach Ian (Cummings), Coach Zach (Sancken), and I could not have asked for a better official start to the indoor season," Robinson said. "We came in confident in the work the team put in over the winter break, and it feels great to see it come together in competition. We are looking forward to building on this early success, and having the full team together at the Titan Open on Feb 11."