Panthers top 10 in state-wide race

Brian and Doug Mateas Eastern Sophomores run side by side during their Cross Country meet Sunday. (Seth Schroeder | Daily Eastern News)

The Eastern cross-country team had another strong showing this weekend at the Illinois Intercollegiate meet held in Bloomington. 

Out of the 40 teams competing, the Eastern women placed fifth and the men placed 10th. The overall winner for the women was Northwestern, who had two of their runner finish in the top two spots. 

The men's side was led by Illinois, but the overall race was won by Michael Spain of North Central College.

The Eastern women were led by sophomore team captain Olivia Klaus, who finished 13th in the 5K event with a time of 18:34. 
Her finish makes Klaus the Panthers' top finisher for the second straight week in a row, after she finished fourth at last week's Panther Open.

"I think we had an overall strong performance," Klaus said. "It's tough coming back from the week we had, since we normally don't have two meets in a row, so under the circumstances we were in I thought we did alright."

Klaus said although the event was much bigger than last week's Panther Open, she thinks Eastern made a good showing.
"The teams are much tougher, but I think we showed that we're a tough team, too," Klaus said.

After two weeks of competition, Klaus said she is happy with the progress the team is making.

"We're really close to being where we want to be as a team, especially on offense," Klaus said. "We're all really enjoying ourselves and having fun."

Other top finishers for the Panther women included sophomore Erika Ramos, who finished 23rd with a time of 18:49. 

Finishing right behind her, in 24th, was sophomore Gabriela Duenas, who also posted a time of 18:49. 

Junior Brittany Arthur finished 44th with a time of 19:08, junior Megan Gingerich finished 52nd with a time of 19:14, senior Caitlin Napoleoni finished 56th with a time of 19:16 and freshman Casey Harms finished 100th with a time of 20:06.

The top finisher for the Eastern men was junior Connor Kustief, who finished the 8K race with a time of 26:01, putting him in 32nd place.

Among the top finishers for the Panther men was junior Bradley LaRocque, who finished in 37th with a time of 26:05 and freshman Danny Delaney finished 74th with a time of 26:37.

Eastern freshman Ryan Ballard finished 80th with a time of 26:46, senior Matt Detloff finished 87th with a time of 26:54, senior Wes Sheldon finished 99th with a time of 27:02 and senior Jason Springer finished 107th with a time of 27:14. 

One week after returning from his foot injury, red-shirt sophomore Nick Brehm finished in 219th, with a time of 29:20. 
The Panthers will not be back in action until Oct. 1, when they head to the Notre Dame Invite in South Bend, Ind. 

Despite having some time off, Klaus said that the team will not back down during this week of practice and will still train at race tempo. 

Klaus said that the Notre Dame meet is a really big event and said she hopes the team will be feeling fresh come Oct. 1.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-7944 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.