ROCKFORD, Ill. - The RU men's and women's cross country teams returned to action Saturday, competing at the NACC Championship Preview. Rockford's men's team recorded a third-place finish with a team score of 86. The women's team did not record a team score.
Men's Race - 8K
- Dominick Welte was the top RU performer on Saturday. Welte finished 16th out of 26 runners, with a time of 30:55:.90.
- Christopher Duron Jr. finished in 18th place with a second-best team time of 31:30.24.
- Antoine Callebaut finished just behind Duron Jr. in 19th place with a time of 32:13.20.
- Luca Bartolo finished with a time of 33:41.70.
- Ryan Sweeney crossed the finish line with a time of 34:43.84.
Women's Race - 6K
- Abigail Wagner was the top runner for the women's team with a time of 32:07.86.
- Victoria Folmar crossed the finish line right after Wagner, with a time of 32:29.49.
- Emily Teagardin finished with a time of 33:29.85.
"Today was a great day for our team! Our course is extremely challenging and every one of our athletes rose to the occasion", Coach Diamond stated.
"On the women's side Victoria, Abby and Emily all ran extremely aggressive races. While the aggressive start may have hurt them a little in the back half, they did an excellent job fighting through the pain and competing to the best of their abilities. If we can keep this aggressive race mindset and use today as a learning experience our women will drop major time by the conference meet."
"Of our five men, each applied their own unique strategy to tackle our challenging course. Each of their approaches allowed each man to run to his strengths and put together a competitive effort. Four of our five men are brand new to the 8k distance, so I expect them to continue to grow into their understanding of the event and their strengths while tackling the distance."
The RU cross country teams return to competition on Saturday, March 27 at the NACC Championship. Women race at 11:00 AM and men race at noon at Kress Creek Farms Park in West Chicago, Illinois.
