Eureka Women Place Second, Men Fifth, at SLIAC Championships

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Eureka cross country and distance team put it all on the line at the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday and recorded its best results in program history.

The Eureka women placed second overall with 68 points, holding off Principia by three. The team's previous best finish at the SLIAC Championships was fifth last fall.

Sophomore Karissa Heffernan (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) finished third overall in a personal-best time of 25:08.6 to take home First Team All-SLIAC honors. She is the Red Devils' first-ever First Team honoree on the women's side, and she was also selected SLIAC Newcomer of the Year.

Freshman Rachel Fisher (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) finished 10th overall in 27:19.8 to earn Second Team All-SLIAC honors.

The Eureka men placed fifth overall with 113 points, coming in one point behind Fontbonne. The team's previous best SLIAC Championships finish was seventh.

Junior Tony DeLira (Chicago, Ill./Alcott/Lincoln) and freshman Bailey Webster (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) led the way and finished back-to-back. DeLira placed ninth overall in 27:39.3 and Webster came in 10th in 27:50 to give the Red Devils its first two Second Team All-SLIAC honorees in program history.

"Pride does not sum up how I feel – there are no words," EC head coach Chris Robinson said. "To look back to two years ago, to when we had one runner on the women's team and two on the men's team, and see where we have come, is amazing."

On the women's side, Sarah Kimbro (Peoria, Ill./Metamora), Riley Reuter (Henry, Ill./Henry-Senachwine), Jaden Randall (Secor, Ill./Roanoke-Benson) finished pretty close together to round out the Red Devils' top five. Kimbro came in 18th in 28:48.4, Reuter finished 24th in 31:37.9 and Randall was 25th in 31:51.3.

On the men's side, Jose Amador (Kempton, Ill./Tri-Point) was Eureka's No. 3 runner, taking 30th in 31:07.3. Senior Javier Garcia (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) was next, coming in 45th in 34:51.7, while Hayden Skaggs (Mansfield, Texas/Mansfield) rounded it out with a 53rd-place finish in 44:19.7.

Kimbro and Amador were named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

For Robinson and assistant coach and program alum Ian Cummings, the day was an emotional roller coaster ride. It was a surprisingly sunny and warm meet for the end of October, but the Red Devils fought through the conditions and did their best not to let their expectations affect their mentality.

The men's team exceeded expectations, finishing ahead of Westminster and Blackburn and was just two points away from coming in fourth.

At the time, that offset the disappointment of the projected women's results. Coming into the race, the coaches had every reason to believe the women's team could finish second overall, but they knew it could very well play out differently on the course. And, when the race was over, they initially thought EC was going to be in third instead of second. When it was announced that Eureka held off the Panthers by three points, the entire team lit up in celebration.

"I couldn't be happier to be part of this program," Cummings said. "Today was amazing."

With program history made, the Red Devils will wrap up the 2022 season on Saturday, Nov. 12 at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Meet in Geneva, Illinois.

"After just two full seasons we walked away with amazing accomplishments," Robinson added. "This team, however, is not satisfied, and will not rest on what they have done. We are hungry and we want more."