Red Devils Celebrate Seniors, Tally 10 PRs

PEORIA – The Eureka cross country and distance team celebrated its Senior Night at the Bradley Intercollegiate Championships on Friday.

Competing against a stacked field that featured three D1 and three D2 teams, the Red Devils tallied 10 new personal records on the familiar terrain of Detweiller Park. Six came from the women's team and four came from the men's team.

On the women's side, Karissa Heffernan (Metamora, Ill./Metamora/Lewis) led the way and continued her prolific junior season.

After running a lifetime best last week, she came out and set a new  bar for herself, finishing 29th in 18:55 – more than 1:05 faster than the collegiate three-mile PR she set at the meet a year ago.

Freshman Emily Baker (Washington, Ill./Washington) followed, coming in 69th and setting a PR of 21:27. Senior captain Sarah Kimbro (Peoria, Ill./Metamora) was across the line next with a 77th-place finish in 22:07. Not only was it a 49 second PR from last year, but it was the fastest she has run the course in her eight-year high school and college XC career.

Jaden Randall (Secor, Ill./Roanoke-Benson) was next for the Red Devils, finishing 94th in 25:18 and cutting 36 seconds off her previous PR. Odessa Grove (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) came in 97th at 32:32, establishing her three-mile PR. Rounding out the night for the women was Jordyn Coppejans (El Paso, Ill./El Paso-Gridley), setting a three-mile PR of 37:39 in her second-ever cross country race.

The Eureka men were led by senior Tony DeLira (Chicago, Ill./Alcott/Lincoln), who got out to a blazing start, running his first mile in 5:12 and finishing 83rd with a time of 28:03.

Fellow senior Khalil Alleyne (Diego Martin, Trinidad/Fatima College/Lincoln) made his collegiate cross country debut with a 102nd-place finish in a PR time of 30:46. Jose Amador (Kempton, Ill./Tri-Point) was next, coming in 114th in 31:08 despite abandoning his shoes and finishing barefoot due to blisters.

Tucker Williamson (Monticello, Ill./Monticello) recorded a PR of 31:22 and finished 116th. Michael Beaumont (Greenup, Ill./Cumberland) finished fifth for the Red Devils and 129th overall with a PR time of 33:48. Gabe Seeber (Champaign, Ill./Champaign Central) rounded out the Red Devils field, recording a PR of 38:21 and taking 131st overall.

After the meet, the Red Devils celebrated their trio of seniors: Kimbro, DeLira and Alleyne. Kimbro has been a valuable member of the team since spring 2022. DeLira joined last fall after transferring from Lincoln College and quickly became a top contributor. Alleyne, a star striker on the men's soccer team and the current St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week, joined the team during the indoor distance season last winter.

After the meet, EC coach Chris Robinson said that it was an emotional night, but he's extremely proud of what those three have already accomplished, and he can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for them.

"The night was fantastic. We saw multiple PRs, a couple lifetime bests, and learned lessons," Robinson said. "This team is having a blast and wants to get better each time out."

The Red Devils will next compete on Saturday, Sept. 30 in the Warrior Invitational in West Allis, Wisconsin.