Red Devils Get Early Start on Spring at Titan First Chance

BLOOMINGTON – The Eureka cross country and distance team got a head start on the spring indoor season and competed at the Titan First Chance on Saturday.

The Red Devils had five runners compete in either the mile, the 600-meter dash, or both at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center.

On the women's side, the Karissa Heffernan (Metamora, Ill./Metamora/Lewis), Rachel Fisher (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) and Sarah Kimbro (Peoria, Ill./Metamora) tallied 10 team points to finish ninth overall.

Heffernan took runner-up in the mile in 5:37.86, marking an 11-second improvement over the mark she set at the SLIAC Indoor Championships last February.

The sophomore started strong and helped set the pace with the top two runners for the first six laps. By the end of the seventh lap, she was in second place and closing on the leader. She passed Illinois Wesleyan's Adriana Crabtree on the first curve of the bell lap, but she got stuck in traffic behind a runner who was getting lapped and fell behind. She closed well on the final stretch, but Crabtree held her off by less than five-tenths of a second.

Kimbro also ran well, placing seventh with a time of 7:07.93 to put her well ahead of last year's schedule.

Fisher, a freshman, made her collegiate indoor debut in the 600. She turned in a fast opening lap and earned a fifth-place finish in 1:46.21. Heffernan finished ninth overall with a time of 1:51.53 in her second race of the day.

On the men's side, freshman Jose Amador (Kempton, Ill./Tri-Point) made his collegiate indoor debut against a tough heat in the mile and finished eighth overall in 5:20.11.

Amador also competed in the 600, taking 17th in 1:36.99, while sophomore Hayden Skaggs (Mansfield, Texas/Mansfield) came in 20th in 2:02.66.

"Overall everyone ran really well," EC coach Chris Robinson said. "Great debuts by Rachel and Jose, and strong gains by our returning student-athletes. We are in a much stronger place than we were a year ago."

The Red Devils will officially open their indoor season with the Principia Relays on Jan. 27-28.