CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Indiana State Men's and Women's Cross Country teams both got one last tune-up before the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Friday at the Illini Open, with Megan Doty and Luke Kerstiens leading the way for the Sycamores.
 
"The women came to battle today and we saw many season and personal-bests," Associate Head Coach for Cross Country Kyle Walsh said. "Megan Doty ran a great race leading us today and stepped into a roll she's been used to in the past. This will be a good sharpener with some momentum heading into the MVC Championships next week."
 
Senior Megan Doty paced the ISU women on Friday in the women's 5K, placing 14th overall with a season-best time of 18:58.9 which is over a 40 second improvement from the Joe Piane Invitational. Devon Zeck didn't finish far behind Doty, taking 18th with a time of 19:11.1. Running third for the women was junior Taylor Rogers who clocked a season-best time of 19:17.7, a best by 33 seconds, for 23rd place.
 
Following Taylor Rogers was Cami Hansen who took 29th overall by crossing the finish line at 19:27.3, which is also a season-best time. In 41st place was Riley Welch who crossed the finish with a time of 19:51.0. Dani Spring and Michaella Burchett finished in 42nd and 48th with times of 19:51.8 and 19:58.4, respectively. Freshman Maggie Falater finished right behind Burchett in 49th place at 19:59.3, while Emma Hayward took 53rd place with a time of 20:15.8. Moriah McCormick and Gabby Brown took 57th and 63rd with times of 20:39.0 and 21:01.0, respectively.
 
"Devon, Taylor, and Cami displayed that we have some decent depth and put together solid races, placing well for the team. I was pleased with the way they competed in the middle portions of the race," Walsh said.
 
On the men's side, Luke Kerstiens was the top finisher, taking 16th place in the men's 8K with a 40-second personal-best time of 26:02.8, but he did run a time of 26:13.9 in the five mile race at the Joe Piane Invite earlier in the year. Ben Vertelney placed 62nd overall with a time of 28:14.0.
 
"Luke represented the Sycamores very well today. He ran his best race at the right time of the year and has shown a lot of progress since the season opener," Walsh said.
 
The Sycamores now turn their attention to the Valley Championships next Saturday, Oct. 27 in Peoria, Ill.
 
"Most of the team concludes their season with a strong finale and a few will join the rest of the team on the MVC roster as we head to Peoria next weekend."
For the latest information on the Sycamore Cross Country teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.