Litchfield, IL. -- Both the Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams had plenty to be grateful for coming away from Saturday's SLIAC Conference Championships at the Litchfield, IL Country Club with their respective 4
th place team finishes. Over half of the team achieved lifetime best race times.
The women's team had lots to be proud of with several PRs including freshman Emme Schaefer who took over 45 seconds off of her previous PR, made 1
st Team All-Conference, and won Conference Newcomer of the Year. In the finish area of perhaps her most important meet thus far in her college career, Ava Lesko did not believe it when she was told that she had PR'd by over 1 minute faster than her previous best, which she produced just two weeks ago at Principia's Cowbell Classic. Katie Wood, the 4
th scorer for the Women's Team, also PR'd by almost a minute. Emily Staunton took home Conference All-Sportsmanship honors, and bested her previous PR by 20 seconds.
For the men,
Drew Shotwell posted a season best performance and came within 15 seconds of his lifetime best.
Chris Hronek's courageous end-of-race kick propelled him past another competitor, and earned him a lifetime best time of 30 minutes exactly- a 20 second improvement over his previous PR. Freshman
Tyler Williams recorded a lifetime best and was the 5
th scorer for the men's team.
Kevin Ward and
Sean Hannigan also PR'd by over a half minute each, and
Jordan Bond turned heads, achieving a season best by over 2 minutes.
Spencer Christensen, who was the 4
th scorer for the men's team, received Conference All-Sportsmanship Team honors. With a 2
nd place overall finish in the men's race,
Abe Ott, who was Conference Runner of the Week multiple times this season, earned SLIAC Runner-Up Champion and First Team All-Conference status. The Men's Team shared Conference All-Sportsmanship Team recognition with Webster University.
Several of the Principia Cross Country runners will compete next at the NCAA DIII Regional Meet, which is held in Colfax, WI, near host institution UW-Eau Claire. The meet is on Saturday, November 10th at 11:00 am for the women and 12:00 pm for the men.
