EC Cross Country Country Posts PRs Across Board at Greenville

 GREENVILLE, Ill. – The Eureka cross country team is gearing up for the home stretch of the season.

On Friday evening, five women and four men from the team competed at the Greenville Classic, and the Red Devils set new personal bests across the board.

On the women's side, Eureka bested St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Blackburn, 211-217.

Freshman Odessa Grove (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) led the way in the women's 5K, coming in 58th in 26:45 after coming in with a previous best of 27:21.

Freshman Isabella Carbajal (Chicago, Ill./Shepard) and sophomore Riley Reuter (Henry, Ill./ Henry-Senachwine) were right behind her. Cabajal, whose previous best was 28:30, took 59th in 26:58. Reuter, whose previous best was 28:40, took 60th in 27:14.

Sophia Simonis (West Frankfurt, Ill./Frankfurt) came in 64th in 34:04 after coming in with a previous best of 36:49. Nikki Tye (Kewanee, Ill./Wethersfield) completed the trend for the EC women, taking 65th in 34:40 after coming in with a previous best of 41:02.

In the men's 8K race, junior Javy Garcia (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) finished 69th in 31:32 after coming in with a previous best of 32:54. Freshman Nick Rulevish (
Addieville, Ill./Okawville) was 82nd in 32:42 after coming with a previous best of 33:34.

Senior Bryce Logsdon (Boise, Idaho/Timberline), who entered with a previous best of 42:55, finished 97th in 37:53, while freshman Hayden Skaggs (
Mansfield, Texas/Mansfield) also saw a significant time drop, finishing in 46:18 after coming in with a best of 52 minutes.

"The team has made amazing progress this fall, and I am really proud of them," EC coach Chris Robinson said. "They are seeing the benefits of their hard work, the early morning practices, and experience they have gained by racing. Coach Ian, Coach Zach, and I are all really proud of them.

"Coach Ian said the efforts they are putting in really showed up on Friday. It takes a lot of work to cut time like they did on Friday. Coach Zach said Friday was a lot of fun. He really enjoyed seeing them have the payoff from their work. We are all looking forward to the next two weeks of practice to see what we can do at the conference championship on Oct 30!"