Griffins Set Multiple Personal Record Times At The SLIAC Championship
LITCHFIELD, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men’s and women’s cross country teams competed very well at the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Championship on Saturday as seven of the eight runners set new personal record times.
LITCHFIELD, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's and women's cross country teams competed very well at the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Championship on Saturday as seven of the eight runners set new personal record times.
"I was extremely proud of our team today," said head coach Chris Buckler. "When we had our meeting Friday night we all talked about what we could accomplish if we worked as a team for each other and the program versus ourselves; they did that. For the first time since I've been here our women's top five all ran under 30 minutes for the 6K and five of the six ran a personal-best. Our top runner, Jennie Stare, is till fighting through injuries and being away from student teaching."
He added, "As for the men, both him amazing personal best times and have started laying the foundation for our men's distance program. We are so young that I believe we will be contending for a title when this group are seniors. Our next race, NCAA Regionals, is a chane to compete against the best field in Division III."
The women competed first on a cold morning and they ended up finishing in seventh place. The overall winner went to Webster University with 31 points, while Greenville College ran its way to a second place finish with 38 points. Westminster (79), Principia (107) and Spalding (144), rounded out the top five.
Individually, Jessie Kuykendall took home the title for the second straight season with a time of 21:59.94. FBU, meanwhile, was led by Sarah Rhoads' time of 28:27.45 and that was good enough for 38th place.
Katie Gosser (29:05.58) and Kayla Sheldon (29:27.36) finished within seconds of each other in 40th and 41st place, while Emily Bay was right behind them with a time of 29:52.90 for 46th. Jennie Stare also performed well as she crossed the line at 30:29.94 for 51st. Colleen Gosser ended the morning in 54th at 32:39.51.
On the men's side, Greenville College won the team championship with 35 total points. Principia College closed out in second with 41 points, while Webster rounded out in third at 60 points.
Atop the individual leaderboard, Principia claimed the first three spots led by Zach Matthiesen's time of 24:05.98 for the victory.
The duo of Jacob Dixon and Hayden Yates both hit new PR times for the Griffins. Dixon ran his way to a 31st place finish with a time of 28:48.61, while Yates gave it all for a 42nd place at 30:59.24.
To view the women's results visit HERE.
To view the men's results visit HERE.
The teams have plenty to build off of as they get ready for the NCAA Midwest Regional on November 11th.
Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's and women's cross country teams.