Horneker Grabs All-Conference Honors; Tonner Leads Three Women in Top 14

Hillsboro, Ill. – Alyssa Tonner finished her SLIAC cross country career on a high note, finishing in second and leading three women to All-Conference honors and a fifth place team finish.  Junior Justin Horneker earned All-Conference honors on the men's side for the first time in his career.

The women's team finished in 5th place, a mere three points out 3rd place and eight points behind 2nd. However, the Griffins ran very well, with five women posting significant personal bests.  Tonner's second place finish in a time of 22:25 is a new school record for 6K by over 40 seconds. Newcomer Olivia Beggs finished 11th with a time of 23:46, bettering her performance from two weeks ago by almost a minute and a half. Kristen Roles grabbed the last All-Conference spot in 14th with a time of 24:08. Rounding out the team score for the Griffins was Marcy Meyer and Claire Becker in 26th and 31st. "The women ran with so much heart today. Our team faced a lot of adversity this season but that was not going to stop them from giving everything they had for each other," said Coach Blake.

The men posted solid performances, with Justin Horneker finishing 12th in 26:25. Cristian Sellars finished 27th with a time of 27:49, and Chris Brown was 38th with a time of 28:50. Horneker is at a new level of fitness and had high expectations going into SLIACs, but an aggressive start proved to be too much later in the race. "The men ran well, especially Chris who had a big lifetime best. I think with a more conservative first mile they can run even faster at Regionals," commented Coach Blake.

Carly Reidt and Cristian Sellars were named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

The Griffins head to Rock Island, Ill. on Nov. 16 for the NCAA DIII Midwest Regional.