Illinois College Invitational Results
The Prairie Fire men's team ran exceptionally well and had two runners finish in the top five while a Knox women's runner had one of the best performances of all-time Saturday in Jacksonville.
Kevin Box '12
The men's squad placed second out of 13 teams at the Illinois College Invitational. Senior Kevin Box (Naperville, Illinois) and sophomore Gabe Moreno (Galesburg, Illinois) crossed the finish line in the 8K race at Nichols Park fourth and fifth, respectively, to lead the Prairie Fire.
Junior Sean Choate (Chicago, Illinois) also had a good day, placing 11th overall out of more than 100 runners.
Box finished in a career-best 26:25, easily topping his previous fastest time of 27:16. He is now tied for 15th on the All-Time Top 25 Best Performances list and ranks in a tie for 8th -- moving up 14 spots -- on the All-Time Top 25 Individuals by Time list with his effort at IC.
Gabe Moreno '14
Moreno ran the race in 26:26, besting his previous fastest time of 26:49. He ranks in a tie for 17th on All-Time Top 25 Best Performances list and moved up three places to #10 on the All-Time Top 25 Individuals by Time list.
Choate finished the 8K at IC in 27:17. His top time of 26:48, which he ran earlier this season, is #14 on the All-Time Top 25 Individuals by Time list.
The men's team had its best performance of the season, placing 13 points ahead of third place Maryville University and 54 points behind team champion and fellow Midwest Conference member Monmouth College.
Senior Emma Swanson (West Des Moines, Iowa) placed 18th overall in the 6K race in a time of 24:58. Her effort is the third-fastest of all-time in Knox cross country history. Two of Swanson's teammates also recorded times that are among the top 25 by individuals.
Swanson earned a spot on the All-Time Top 25 Individuals by Time list in the 5K earlier this season. She ran a 20:17 at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships, hosted by Illinois State University, on September 16 to rank her #13 in school history. Swanson's time at the IIC is also the ninth-fastest in the 5K in the Midwest Conference.
Emma Swanson '12
Sophomore Yael Cody (Highland Park, Illinois) was the second Prairie Fire women's runner to cross the finish line after Swanson. Cody's time of 26:55 ranks 17th on the Top 25 Individuals by Time list. First-year runner Jade Ivy (Chicago, Illinois) finished in 27:24, which is #22 on the list.
The Knox women placed eighth overall ahead of Lincoln University and Robert Morris University.
Two other Knox men's runners finished in the top 35. Sophomore Tyler Buddell (Lake Bluff, Illinois) placed 33rd with his time of 28:40 while his brother, junior Jacob Buddell (Lake Bluff, Illinois), ran the race in 28:43 for 35th place. Both ran season-best times.
The meet was the last of the regular season for the cross country teams. Following a weekend off, the Prairie Fire runners have their biggest event of the season to date: the 2011 Midwest Conference Championships. Ripon College is this year's host. The races begin at 11:00 a.m.
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