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Western Illinois University Athletics

Cross Country
Sarah Twidwell

Beebe, Western Women Crowned Winners at Early Bird Meet

Both the men and women took to Spring Lake Park Friday where three captured personal records, and in back-to-back seasons the Leatherneck women were crowned team champions.

WOMEN'S RESULTS
MEN'S RESULTS

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois' cross country teams have a history of success in their season-opening meet, the Early Bird Invitational, and the triumphs continued in 2018. Both the men and women took to Spring Lake Park Friday (Aug. 31) where three captured personal records, and in back-to-back seasons the Leatherneck women were crowned team champions. 

The meet also the second straight time a Western woman has won the event as Nicole Beebe recorded her collegiate best en route to a first-place finish. 

"We had a great meet to bust off the rust on our home course. Our women ran a great race and beat a very good Bradley team who is ranked highly in the region. Nicole Beebe is on a mission this season and really looked good. It's going to be a great year for her," said head coach Nick Maas.

Western's women maneuvered Spring Lake Park as the top team in a field that also featured Bradley, Webster and Carl Sanburg College. 

Beebe set the pace for all finishers with a first-place time of 14:40 and was joined on the winner's podium by Abigail Richter (14:54.8) and Hailey Tranchitella (14:58.9). Racing in at 1-2-3, the trio were the lone runners to clock in under 15 minutes. 

Jacey Roper and Mackenzie Goldring finished on the heels of each other to place 12th and 13th with times of 15:41.9 and 15:53.8, respectively, while Elyse Matthews and Kaitlyn Matthews completed the 4K in 16:12.8 and 17:49.6. For the latter three – all true freshmen - the meet marked their first taste of competition at the collegiate level. 

Western's newcomers also performed well on the men's side as two of their top four finishers -- Lucas Howett (20:41.8) and Alec Scott (21:03.2) – were freshmen. Senior Lucas Lingle represented the Western contingent with a top-10 performance of 19:34.9, which also cemented a personal record, and Ross Smetzer posted the second-best time on the men's team in 20:34.9. 
 
"The men are very young and show some good promise," continued Maas. "Many of them have never run over three miles in cross country and are learning along the way. They have a positive attitude and a lot of grit, so the future is very bright. Lucas Lingle is really looking good and ran very well. His senior year is going to be fun to watch."

Quintin Thurman also recorded a PR, shaving nearly 20 seconds off of his previous best, with a mark of 22:20.4. 

Collectively, Western's men, 11 in total, placed third in team standings behind Bradley and Augustana (Ill.). 

"In a few weeks, we have a much bigger race at Bradley, that's when we will really see what we have going. It's a long season, and we need to keep improving as we progress."

Western continues its 2018 season at the Bradley Intercollegiate Friday, Sept. 14. 
 
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