The Sycamores finished eighth in the 14-team field on Saturday. Winning the team race and defending their 2000 crown were the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona. NAU placed all five of its runners in the top 10 en route to the team title. Eastern Michigan junior Boaz Cheboiywo took command of the race early and never looked back as he eclipsed the course record by 15 seconds in a time of 23:38.20. Led by Cheboiywo’s performance, the Eagles finished second overall.
Junior Mark Rode (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the top finisher for ISU as
he finished 20th overall in a time of 25:16. Sophomore teammate Isaiah
Stafford (Avon, Ind.) covered the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:22.8
to finish 26th overall. Rounding out the top five for ISU were freshman
Seth Aydt (26:02.50/45th), David Rudy (26:12.40/51st) and Kevin Stengel
(26:46.50/67th). Other members of the ISU team in the race were, Dustin
Strosnider (68th/26:47.00), Craig Dismore (74th/27:06.6), Aaron Harding
(27:11.3), Joe Betz (27:14.1), Aaron Crawn (28:15.7) and Josh Sluder (28:56.7).
ISU alumnus Rick Sluder finished 13th overall in a time of 25:01.70,
representing the Indiana Invaders.
On the men’s side, there were two nationally ranked teams, Northern Arizona (No. 9) and Eastern Michigan (No. 24) among the field. Additionally, Ohio State sent a field of runners as they are receiving votes in the national poll. In terms of regional rankings, Northern Arizona (No. 3 - Mountain), Eastern Michigan (No. 4 - Great Lakes), Ohio State (No. 8 - Great Lakes), Purdue (No. 9 - Great Lakes), Arkansas Little Rock (No. 10 - South Central) are recognized as some of the top teams in the early portion of the 2001 season.
The Lumberjacks also took the women’s crown for a second-straight year. Like the men’s race, there was a new course record established by NAU freshman Ida Nilsson. She covered the 6k course in a time of 21:01.1, shattering the mark by 1:18. That was not the only record broke on the afternoon, as ISU sophomore Jessica Crowder lowered the school record by 51 seconds. The Lewis, Ind. native finished 16th in a time of 22:27.50. It is a five-second improvement on her career best that she established at the 2000 NCAA Great Lakes Regional. Crowder and the Sycamores finished ninth in the 13-team field.
Senior Jeri Meyerholtz (Shelbyville, Ind.) finished 33rd in a time of 23:15.70 and rounding out the top five for Indiana State was senior Alyssa Pittman (23:31.2/42nd), sophomore Amber Bucci (23:51.50/50th), freshman Carol Linneweber (24:36.50/76th). Also running for ISU were senior Angie Martin (24:53.50/80th) and senior Lacey Acree (25:27.4/94th).
For the women, the race distance was 6k, much like it will be when the Sycamores host the 2001 NCAA Great Lakes Regional.
The top-notch competition was also on the women’s side of the ledger. On the women’s side, Northern Arizona arrived in Terre Haute as one of the top teams as they received votes in the FinishLynx poll. In terms of regional rankings, Northern Arizona (No. 5 - Mountain), Purdue (No. 7- Great Lakes), Arkansas Little Rock (No. 8 - South Central, Ball State (No. 10 - Great Lakes).
Both teams will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 6, as they will
get a glimpse of their MVC rivals at the Saluki Invitational in Carbondale,
Ill.