Illinois College Invitational results

Jacksonville, IL – The Prairie Fire men’s cross country team had its best placement of the season while both Knox teams combined for five new all-time top 25 entries at the Illinois College Invitational.

The men’s squad finished second out of 13 teams on October 13 at Nichols Park in Jacksonville, Illinois.  Senior Sean Choate (Chicago, IL, Chicago Academy), junior Gabe Moreno (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg), and senior Jacob Buddell (Lake Bluff, IL, Lake Forest) had exceptional races for the Prairie Fire.

The women’s team finished ninth out of 12 teams at the meet.  First-year runners Mickella Duffy-Webb (Colorado Springs, CO, William J. Palmer) and Melissa Silva (Zion, IL, Zion-Benton Township) were the top finishers for Knox.

Moreno and Choate finished second and third, respectively, out of 122 runners.  Moreno’s time of 26:12 ties him at #16 on the men’s cross country Top 25 Best Performances list.  Choate ran the race in 26:20, which ranks #20 on the best performances list.  In addition, Buddell placed 15th overall in a time of 27:26 which is #23 on the Top 25 Individuals by Time list.

Choate owns the third-fastest time by a Midwest Conference men’s runner to date.  He ran the 8K race at Augustana College in 26:01 earlier this season.  Moreno’s time of 26:07 is the fifth-fastest by a men’s MWC runner, also at Augustana College.

The Prairie Fire men placed ahead of Midwest Conference member Illinois College and 10 other schools.

Duffy-Webb finished 26th overall out of 92 participants in the 6K.  Her time of 25:22 ranks #11 on the women’s cross country Top 25 Best Performances list.  Silva finished 37th in a time of 26:33, which is #16 on the Top 25 Individuals by Time list.

The Knox women’s squad finished ahead of Quincy University, Lindenwood-Belleville University, and Robert Morris University.

The Prairie Fire teams are off until the Midwest Conference Championships on October 27 at St. Norbert College.

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