Tonner Breaks School Record; Four Griffins in Top 15 at Illinois College
St. Louis- Senior Alyssa Tonner came up with a big performance on Saturday in Jacksonville,Ill. placing 3rd and breaking her own school record for a 6K in a time of 23:08. Tonner established herself in the top six early on in the race and never looked back, eventually dropping the pack of competitors she was with and overtaking the third place runner.
Olivia Beggs and Marcy Meyer also ran well on the women's side. Beggs made her collegiate debut for the Griffins, placing 10th in a time of 25:26.
On the men's side, junior Justin Horneker opened up his season in a strong fashion, taking second place behind Gabe Moreno of Knox College. His time of 26:15 is only five seconds away from the fastest 8K time in school history. "It was my first race this year and I had no expectations for myself going in, I just went out there and had fun. Seeing the team do so well was very encouraging," Horneker said.
Also notable was Cristian Sellars' 15th place finish, as he demolished his personal best in a time of 27:58.
"Our team surpassed my expectations going into today. Their times were fast because they competed well with the runners around them," said head coach Kelli Blake.
Next Saturday the Griffins will be racing the UW Oshkosh Brooks Invitational in Winnecone, Wis.