PEORIA, Ill. ? For the second-straight year, the Indiana State men's cross country team out-ran their opponents at the Bradley Open and finished in first place in the Division I 8k race on Friday afternoon at Detweiller Park. The Sycamore women's squad also ran well, placing second in the 5k race.
ISU came out on top with 21 points, ahead of the host Bradley Braves who finished in second place with 53 points. Western Illinois ran to a third-place finish with 57 points, followed by Northern Iowa (99) and Chicago State (150).
The Sycamores were led to the title by sophomore Scott Koressel, who finished in first place with a time of 25:28 just ahead of freshman teammate Michael Disher in second place with a time of 25:38. Sophomores Eric Schulz (25:44) and Scott Keeney (26:05) ran to third and fifth-place finishes, respectively, and senior David Santelik rounded out the top 10 with a time of 26:26.
“I am very pleased with how our young runners performed today,” said men's head coach John McNichols. “We had to hold out some of our veterans in this race due to injury, but our guys really stepped up to the plate and ran well. Disher was in the lead late in the race, but made a bit of a freshman mistake that allowed Koressel to win the race. However, to run the way he did in his first collegiate race was pretty impressive. It was a really tough day to run with the heat, but we got through it and now we'll re-hydrate and get ready for next week.”
On the women's side, the Sycamores finished in second place with 58 points behind race-winner and Missouri Valley Conference foe Northern Iowa (45). Western Illinois finished third with 62 points, followed by Bradley in fourth (72) and Northern Illinois (100) in fifth place.
Sophomore Kayla Alexander finished with a time of 18:25, good for third place behind Northern Iowa teammates Caedryn Schrunk (17:58) and Traci Hawley (18:01) in first and second, respectively. Alexander was joined in the top 10 by senior Karla Negron, who finished in 10th place (19:19) and set a new career personal best. Junior Heather Stembridge (19:24) and sophomore Adriane Wunderlich (19:29) just missed the out on top 10 finishes, placing 11th and 12th respectively.
“I really thought we would be closer to UNI, but in reality it was a good first performance,” said women's head coach John Gartland. “UNI was very strong up front and for Kayla to finish in the top three was pretty impressive. Karla also ran the race of her career and we got strong performances out of Heather and Adriane as well. For us to finish ahead of Bradley, who we were picked behind in the MVC preseason poll, and just behind UNI was a good way to start the season.”
Indiana State returns to action next Friday, September 14, at the Indiana Intercollegiate hosted by Purdue. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET in West Lafayette, Ind. at the Purdue Varsity Cross Country Course.
Men's Results (top 10 of 38)
1. Scott Koressel Indiana State 25:28
2. Michael Disher Indiana State 25:39
3. Eric Schulz Indiana State 25:44
4. Nathan Leech Bradley 25:52
5. Scott Keeney Indiana State 26:05
6. Challas Ray Western Illinois 26:06
7. Chris George Bradley 26:16
8. Eric Anerino Western Illinois 26:21
9. Chris Lawson Northern Iowa 26:24
10. David Santelik Indiana State 26:26
Other ISU Finishers:
13. John Lambertus 26:38
18. Jared Messmann 27:18
19. Thomas Crum 27:23
Women's Results (top 10 of 48)
1. Caedryn Schrunk Northern Iowa 17:58
2. Traci Hawley Northern Iowa 18:01
3. Kayla Alexander Indiana State 18:25
4. Beth Whalen Western Illinois 18:32
5. Meghan Ginter Northern Illinois 18:53
6. Andrea Wacker Northern Iowa 18:56
7. Chandel Ray Western Illinois 18:57
8. Rachel Brubaker Bradley 19:14
9. Mary Goldkamp Bradley 19:18
10. Karla Negron Indiana State 19:19
Other ISU Finishers:
11. Heather Stembridge 19:24
12. Adriane Wunderlich 19:29
22. Emily Pugh 19:59
23. Allison Malone 20:00
28. Bethany Scruton 20:13
30. Alicia Lipska 20:16
35. Ariel Hall 20:35
37. Kimmy Robertson 20:38
44. Sarah Heaton 22:08
