MACOMB, Ill. - There was only one meet on Western Illinois' 2020-21 cross country schedule, and it was the biggest of the season. The Leathernecks played host to The Summit League Cross Country Championships, presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, Friday (March 5) at Spring Lake Park, where Habibu Moise and Paulina Wuestefeld clocked the fastest times for WIU's men's and women's programs, respectively.
"I'm proud of how they balanced the difficulties of training for an indoor track season and cross country at the same time," said head coach Brandon Hazouri. "It was a strange year to ask them to do both of those things, but they did a good job in trusting me to get them prepared . We're missing a little bit of depth right now, so just continuing to get better and more competitive every year is the goal."
Competing in their first collegiate cross country meet, Moise (26:18.68) and Wuestefeld (23:36.01) represented Western well as the first Leathernecks to cross the finish line in their respective races.
Senior Cameron Schroeder came in not too long after his freshman teammate for a new 8K personal record of 26:52.65.
South Dakota State swept the men's and women's Summit League titles.
Men's Results
Habibu Moise | 26:18.68
Cameron Schroeder | 26:52.65
Olin Ortiz | 27:06.77
Isaiah Moorman | 28:31.17
Max Lupo | 28:49.92
Women's Results
Paulina Wuestefeld | 23:36.01
Mackenzie Goldring | 24:13.66
April Goetz | 24:45.93
Elyse Mathews | 25:29.01
Riley Madix | 25:46.64
Kaitlyn Mathews | 26:25.35
