Posted: Dec 08, 2022

EC Cross Country Leveled Up During Historic 2022 Season

When Eureka cross country and distance coach Chris Robinson met with his team for the first time this fall, he had a feeling it was going to be a different kind of season.

Back in 2020, when he relaunched the program amid the challenges and disruptions of the pandemic, this had been a small meeting. The team had a bit of a ragtag vibe then, and was primarily made up of a mix of former runners who hadn't competed in a while and athletes who had never ran competitively. Everyone there could easily sit at the same table.

The following season, when the Red Devils were competing in their first full season since 2016, the numbers had grown and the returners had progressed, but they still had the look of a pretty green program.

When Robinson's squad convened in August 2022, though, the room was full of runners, all buzzing with enthusiasm for the sport and the opportunity to be a part of EC cross country and distance. Regardless of how the team would perform, it was clear that the Red Devils had come a long way in a short period of time.

"It was really exciting for (assistant coach) Zach (Sancken) and (assistant coach) Ian (Cummings) and I to see," Robinson said. "We're weren't starting at square one."

When the team hit the course, EC cross country and distance showed that it wasn't just growing in numbers; it was evolving into a competitive program.

This fall, the Red Devils regularly exceeded expectations. Times dropped, placements improved and every EC runner that put themselves on the line grew stronger.

All of their efforts culminated in a pair of historic team performances at the SLIAC Championships in Louisville on Oct. 29.

On the women's side, Eureka placed second overall, holding off Principia by three points and marking a new program best finish. The team's previous best was fifth the year prior.

On the men's side, the Red Devils came in fifth overall and were one point behind fourth-place Fontbonne. The team's previous best SLIAC Championships finish was seventh.

The women's race had a particularly nerve-racking finish. The race was so close that it wasn't immediately clear where Eureka had finished.

Eureka sophomore and No. 1 runner Karissa Heffernan paced the Red Devils and finished third overall with a personal-best time of 25:08.6. Then, she anxiously watched the rest of it unfold.

"I was sitting there, watching everyone come in, and the Prin runners would have one in front of ours, and then we would have one in front of theirs, so we didn't know where each one was going to finish," Heffernan said. "We didn't know that we got second until later.

"It's the highest we've ever placed as a team in Eureka history, which is pretty cool to know that we made it. We set that mark."

Heffernan became the Red Devils' first-ever First Team All-SLIAC honoree on the women's side, and she was also selected SLIAC Newcomer of the Year.

A Metamora native, Heffernan transferred to Eureka last winter after a semester at Lewis University.

She had previously been recruited by Robinson, but she originally thought she wanted to experience a bigger school. Once she realized it wasn't for her, she contacted Robinson again, and soon, she was competing in maroon and gold during the indoor track season.

It started off strong, with her repeatedly improving her mile time, but she injured her foot in the process and had to miss most of the outdoor campaign. By the time fall rolled around, she had plenty of reasons to be hungry.

"My expectations going into this fall were really high because my cross country season up there (at Lewis) wasn't what I wanted it to be in my first year," Heffernan said. "So, I was trying to get where I wanted to be. I wanted to prove to myself that I was going to do really well for myself."

Heffernan proceeded to lead her team in every race while consistently dropping time.

She recorded three top-10 placements, finished in the top 20 in the first meet of the year and ended up just outside it against a loaded field at the Bradley Intercollegiate.

Her toughest race was at the Spartan Classic in Aurora, where she came in 44th after stepping in a hole and tweaking her back. In November, she got another chance at the course in the Red Devils' regional meet and cut 21 seconds off her previous best time, finishing in 24:47.6.

"My main goal for the fall season was placing well at conference as a team," Heffernan said. "I wanted to improve upon my 6K time and my 5K time, just from high school and my first year of college to now, which I did. And just to build a name for the team, and to show that we're going to be a strong, competitive team in the future.

"It was pretty awesome to see how far this team has come since it started."

This fall, Heffernan had a familiar face striving to chase her down every race in freshman Rachel Fisher. Fisher and Heffernan were previously high school teammates at Metamora, along with Eureka junior Sarah Kimbro. The trio of former Redbirds led the Red Devils in every race in which all three competed, with Fisher coming in second behind Heffernan in all seven races.

"It's fun having Karissa and Sarah on the team because I can say something and they totally get it," Fisher said. "I already know their running style and personality, but then it's been really nice to meet everyone else. Everyone else has been really welcoming and fun to be around."

Fisher came into her first collegiate season not knowing what to expect. Between running longer distances, adjusting to different training regimens and getting to know new coaches and teammates, she knew there she was going to be facing a lot of change.

"I didn't have many expectations," Fisher said. "I really wanted to make an impact on the team, be able to help build the team and get better scores in meets, but I didn't really have a time (in mind) because I didn't know how times would work out.

"It was definitely a learning season."

In her first collegiate meet, Fisher came in 36th in a two-mile race and helped the Red Devils place fifth overall. The following week, however, she was less than satisfied with her time in her first-ever 6k.

"It was almost 29 minutes," she said, "and it was like, 'we've got to improve this.'

"I am always a perfectionist. I will see a time and think I could always do better, especially having Karissa in front of me; that definitely makes me push myself more, which is a good thing."

She recorded her best 6K time of the year at the Warrior Invitational on Oct. 15, coming in 22nd in 27:06.9. She then finished 10th overall at the SLIAC Championships to capture Second Team All-SLIAC honors.

"I went into the meet hoping for First Team All-Conference, so it wasn't as well as I hoped for, but I was still glad," Fisher said. "It was really exciting seeing the improvement from last year."

The improvements on the men's side were significant, too.

A year earlier, the Red Devils didn't have enough runners to score. In Louisville, the team scored enough to deliver a historic result. They were led by a pair of competitive newcomers who challenged each other all season long.

Junior transfer Tony DeLira and freshman Bailey Webster finished back-to-back, placing ninth in 27:39.3 and 10th in 27:50, respectively, to give the Red Devils their first two Second Team All-SLIAC honors in program history.

DeLira transferred in this year after Lincoln College closed in the spring and quickly found his comfort zone at Eureka.

"I thought it was awesome being part of this team," DeLira said. "I think I actually got better because I had Bailey to try to compete against. I think coach gave us better workouts. I think it went great for me."

Webster, meanwhile, faced an early learning curve. Prior to this season, he had never run eight miles at a time before.

The first meet of the year was a three-mile race, and he finished about 12 seconds behind DeLira. The following race at Aurora was his first-ever 8k, and he ended up edging DeLira by a little over a second with a time of 30:07.3.

"I was pretty nervous because I didn't know how I was going to do or how the meet was going to turn out, but I ended up not doing too bad," Webster said.

As he settled into the team's training, his times steadily improved.

In the third meet of the year, DeLira came back and turned in a personal-record time of 27:16 to finish ahead of Webster at the Bradley Intercollegiate.

By the end of the season, DeLira had finished ahead of Webster four times and Webster had finished ahead of DeLira three times.

"The very first meet, he was pretty ahead of me, and I was not able to get him, but we've been practicing together, and I'd been able to stick with him at practices," Webster said of his teammate and friendly rival, "but at meets, it has been back-and-forth. It has just been a big competition between me and him. It's been real fun.'"

At the program's year-end banquet, DeLira was named MVP for the men's team, while Webster received Newcomer of the Year and Most Improved honors.

Heffernan was the women's team's MVP. Fisher was named Newcomer of the Year and Kimbro earned Most Improved honors, capping a special and historic season for EC cross country and distance.

This fall, the Red Devils had 13 runners, three coaches and a slew of supportive families that contributed along the way.

"I feel like we exceeded what we thought we could accomplish," Webster said. "I'm just really proud of my teammates. We really worked hard for what we earned."

Eureka Cross Country Personal Records and Season Bests (women's 6k, men's 8k)

Women's Team

Isabella Carbajal: 35:50.8 at Warrior Invitational, Oct. 1, 2022 (SB)

Rachel Fisher: 27:06.9 at Warrior Invitational, Oct. 1, 2022 (PR)

Odessa Grove: 36:58.8 at SLIAC Championships, Oct. 29, 2022 (SB)

Karissa Heffernan: 24:47.6 at Regionals, Nov. 12, 2022 (PR)

Sarah Kimbro: 28:48.4 at SLIAC Championships, Oct. 29, 2022 (PR)

Jaden Randall: 31:02.1 at Warrior Invitational, Oct. 1, 2022 (PR)

Riley Reuter: 30:37.1 at Regionals, Nov. 12, 2022 (PR)

Men's Team

Jose Amador: 30:59 at Bradley Intercollegiate, Sept. 16, 2022 (PR)

Tony DeLira: 27:16 at Bradley Intercollegiate, Sept. 16, 2022 (PR)