Rock Island, IL – Five Prairie Fire cross country runners either moved up or added their names to the sport’s record books at the Brissman/Lundeen Invitational, hosted on Friday by Augustana College in Rock Island.
First-year Elizabeth Reyes (Oak Park, IL, Oak Park-River Forest) ran the second-fastest 6K time in school history when she finished in 24:26 and placed 78th out of nearly 400 runners. She set the #3 all-time mark of 24:37 earlier this season at Grinnell College. Her most recent run also ranks #2 on the Top 25 Individuals by Time list. The 24:26 ran by Reyes is the third-fastest time by a Midwest Conference first-year runner to date.
Also making their way onto the Top 25 individuals list are two other first-year runners – Mickella Duffy-Webb (Colorado Springs, CO, William J. Palmer) and Melissa Silva (Zion, IL, Zion-Benton Township). Duffy-Webb finished the race in 26:21, which ranks #15, and Silva’s time of 26:46 is #21 on the list.
The Prairie Fire women’s team placed 26th out of 32 teams. Some of the schools Knox finished ahead of included Lindenwood University, Coe College, Quincy University, and Purdue University-Calumet.
Two men’s runners with performances among the 25 fastest of all-time improved their career-best times.
Senior Sean Choate (Chicago, IL, Chicago Academy) placed 22nd in the field of 461 runners in 26:01, the seventh-fastest time in school history, topping his previous best time of 26:48. He also moved up to #5 from #14 on the Top 25 Individuals by Time list. The 26:01 that Choate ran is the second-fastest 8K time by a Midwest Conference runner to date.
Junior Gabe Moreno (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) finished 28th overall in the race, finishing in 26:07. The new career-fastest time for Moreno, whose previous best was 26:09, is ranked #11 among the top 25 all-time best performances and ranks #8 on the individuals list. The 26:07 by Moreno is the fourth-fastest 8K time by a Midwest Conference runner to date.
The Prairie Fire men’s team had an exceptional showing, finishing 15 out of 34 teams. Knox placed ahead of Monmouth College, Coe College, Westminster College, Webster University, the University of Dubuque, and more than a dozen others.
The Knox men’s and women’s teams run in the Beloit Olde English Classic on September 29. The women’s race begins at 11:00 a.m. followed by the men’s race at 12:00 p.m. at Leeson Park in Beloit, Wisconsin.
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