Leathernecks Compete in the WIU Early Bird Invite

Madison Lefler led the women’s team while Grant Kaiser paced the men’s team

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois cross country played host to the 2015 Early Bird Invite on Friday afternoon (Sept. 4) at Spring Lake. The men's race went 6K while the women ran a 4K race in the first invitational of the season, with temperatures in the low 90s.

Madison Lefler paced the women's team, taking second place overall in 15:01. Alyssa Johnson was 14th place in 16:43 and Jaclyn Finney was the third Leatherneck to cross the finish line, 17th place overall in 17:10.

Shelby DePriest (19th/17:28), Jaylee Clements (22nd/17:59) and Phyllis George (23rd/18:03) went 4-6 for Western. Megan McGlone (27th/18:59) and Katlyn Rhea (28th/19:00) also competed.

Bradley won the women's title finishing all its runners in 3rd through 11th place, totaling 20 points. Western was next with 57 points, followed by Illinois Central (79) and Sauk Valley Community College (88).

Grant Kaiser ran the 6K course in 19:48, taking eighth place. Lucas Lingle (20:05) finished 14th and Christian Hoover (21:49) came in 30th. Josh Thomas (46th/25:36) and Danny Daniels (51st/28:13) rounded out the WIU scoring.

Augustana took the title with 17 points, claiming six of the top seven finishers and seven of the top nine. Bradley tallied 51 points, followed by Illinois Central (102) and Western (108). Hannibal-LaGrange tallied 122 points followed by Sauk Valley with 131.

"The expectations were met with our top runners. I was really happy to see some of the freshmen run better than they were training. We're using this meet today as a test and transition to the next phase of training," said Western Illinois coach Russell Peterson. "I'm excited about that because we're going to get into fun stuff for the runners. But it's also going to set us up for the next meet. That's going to raise the expectations. Overall I'm happy on both sides. The top runners did what they were supposed to do and the young runners surprised me. It was a good start."

The Leathernecks will travel to Bradley next Friday for the Bradley Intercollegiate.

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Players Mentioned

Grant Kaiser: DISTANCE; Sophomore; Glenwood

Shelby DePriest: DISTANCE; Junior; Lyons Township

Jaclyn Finney: DISTANCE; Junior; Washington Community

Alyssa Johnson: DISTANCE; Senior; Washington Community

Madison Lefler: DISTANCE; Junior; Canton

Jaylee Clements: DISTANCE; Sophomore; Pittsfield

Phyllis George: DISTANCE; Senior; St. Gregory/Arkansas

Megan McGlone: DISTANCE; Senior; Streamwood

Danny Daniels: DISTANCE; Junior; Oregon

Josh Thomas: DISTANCE; Junior; Farmington

Lucas Lingle: DISTANCE; Freshman; Canton

Players Mentioned

Grant Kaiser
: Sophomore; Glenwood
: DISTANCE

Shelby DePriest
: Junior; Lyons Township
: DISTANCE

Jaclyn Finney
: Junior; Washington Community
: DISTANCE

Alyssa Johnson
: Senior; Washington Community
: DISTANCE

Madison Lefler
: Junior; Canton
: DISTANCE

Jaylee Clements
: Sophomore; Pittsfield
: DISTANCE

Phyllis George
: Senior; St. Gregory/Arkansas
: DISTANCE

Megan McGlone
: Senior; Streamwood
: DISTANCE

Danny Daniels
: Junior; Oregon
: DISTANCE

Josh Thomas
: Junior; Farmington
: DISTANCE

Lucas Lingle
: Freshman; Canton
: DISTANCE