HAYS, KS | ROMEOVILLE, IL- Cross Country headed to the Lewis Crossover in Illinois and the FHSU Tiger Open in Kansas on Saturday as the teams ran a majority of their teams across the two meets. An incredible performance from the men at the Lewis Crossover resulted in a crucial victory as the team went an incredible 37-0 on the day. A 14th place finish from the women in Illinois capped a busy day of action across two states.
The women began at the FHSU Tiger Open in the 6k as
Dakota Danaher led her team in Kansas with a run of 19:40.3.
Grace McDevitt and
Mari Calene came next, while
Emma Flowers and
Kara Krulick followed.
Brooke Connolly and Molly WIlkinson closed the day out as the team took 7th in Kansas.
Over in Illinois,
Alysia Wagner led the efforts as she ran a 22:16.3. Loreleigh Daugherty came next with a 22:31.8, while
Rachel Harpt ran a 22:46.0. Ava Maginity and
Kate Miller followed, and
Nora Thompson,
Sophia Graber and
Kaylie Bookout closed the top seven runners. As a team, CCU finished in 14th place of the 36 teams to compete.
The men took on the 8k at the FHSU Tiger Open, and
Tyler Schwarz paced his team with a 26:09.2.
Tate Fletcher and
Nico Ramirez closely followed with times of 26:22.0 and 26:28.5.
Iain Embry,
Drew Stilson and
Mason Gansz closed the action in Hays as CCU took 9th place overall.
The highlight of the day came from the men at the Lewis Crossover, and they performed tremendously in a pivotal meet full of highly ranked teams.
Matthew Storer was the catalyst as he closed in second place with a stellar run of 23:47.3.
Caleb Hershey was strong as the second finisher for his team in 17th with a 24:27.6.
Noah Lambers and
Klay Grant both came in the top 25 with times of 24:32.6 and 24:33.6 respectively, and
Tyler Scholl,
Alex Vance and
Mateo Luna all came in together in the top 35.
Zach Vance,
Sean McCauley,
Joseph Lethlean,
Jay Wood and
Isaac Roberts closed the action as the incredible effort gave the Cougars a very important victory as a team among the 37 teams who ran in Romeoville. CCU took down 11 nationally ranked teams on their way to the victory, marking an important milestone for the team in a meet that is important for postseason qualification.
The Cougars will now get ready for the RMAC Championships that will be held this year at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs on October 25.
