Eureka Piles Up PRs, Season Bests at SLIAC Championships

LITCHFIELD, Ill. – The Eureka cross country and distance team took on the best competition the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had to offer on Saturday. 

Despite not reaching the relatively lofty but achieveable expecations that they had going into the meet, the Red Devils posted seven personal records and everyone turned in a season best time.

After taking runner-up in the SLIAC last season, the Eureka women tied for fourth on Saturday, while the men aimed for fourth but finished tied for sixth.

"Today was one of those days where this sport will drive you crazy," EC head coach Chris Robinson said. "Typically, you won't have that kind of individual success across the board and end up with the team placements we had. We did what we needed to do  … the whole field was just fast today."

Eureka's Karissa Heffernan (Metamora, Ill./Metamora/Lewis) placed third in the conference for second straight season, earning All-SLIAC First Team honors and setting a new PR with a time of 24:02. It was a 45-second improvement over her previous best.

Emily Baker (Washinton, Ill./Washington) held down the No. 2 spot for the Red Devils, taking 12th overall to earn Second Team All-SLIAC honors with a PR time of 26:30. – a 34-second improvement in her first first-ever SLIAC Championship meet.

Senior Sarah Kimbro (Peoria, Ill./Metamora) finished her SLIAC cross country conference career with a PR of 28:14, improving by 34 seconds and coming in 23rd overall. Jaden Randall (Secor, Ill./Roanoke-Benson) continued her steady improvement, finishing 34th overall with a season-best time of 31:24 – improving by 4:14.  Odessa Grove (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) ran her best race of the season coming in 45th overall and a season best time of 34:40.

On the men's side, Tony DeLira (Chicago, Ill./Alcott/Lincoln) turned in a season-best time of 28:03 and placed 19th overall. The senior just edged out his previous best from this year by .2 of a second.

Jose Amador (Kempton, Ill./Tri-Point) was second for the Red Devils, taking 33rd overall in a PR time of 30:10 while improving by 58 seconds.

Tucker Williamson (Monticello, Ill./Monticello) came in next with a PR of 30:28, and an improvement of 2:09 and a 38th-place finish. Micheal Beaumont (Greenup, Ill./Cumberland) improved his PR by 1:25, finishing in 32:23 for a 56th-place finish. Gabe Seeber (Champaign, Ill./Champaign Central) took 67th overall with a PR of 36:11, cutting 1:08 off his previous best.

"Both teams ran really well today and have a lot to be proud of," Robinson said. "The amount of time they all cut from either their season best or PRs was remarkable. We could not be more proud of the work they put in this fall and have it pay off the way it did. 

"Our season is not over, and we are excited to put in one more strong effort at the NCAA Midwest XC Regional meet."