Saluki Men, Women Take Seventh at MVC Championships

Saturday, November 2

Valparaiso, IN

11 a.m.

Southern Illinois University

MVC Championships

11/02/2019 | 1:05:00 | Cross Country

By: Brandon Lindholm, SIUSalukis.com

VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Southern Illinois cross country teams took part in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships hosted by Valparaiso University on Saturday.

The men raced first in the eight-kilometer and took seventh in the field of nine teams. Redshirt senior Cain Hassim placed 26^th with his time of 26:03.73. The next closet Saluki in the field was sophomore Reid Parsons, who made his first appearance since the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 27 and finished 31^st with a time of 26:12.53.

Junior Jacob DeWitt took 34^th with a season-best 8K time of 26:19.57. Rounding out the Salukis in the eight-kilometer was Michael Church (38^th), Chris Edwards (46^th), JT Hodges (52^nd) and Canoy Tyree (59^th).

"I thought the men ran really gutsy today," said second-year Director of T&F/XC Rosalind Joseph. "Jacob DeWitt, Michael Church and Chris Edwards had great races; the best I've seen them run all year. We put our boom specialist Canoy Tyree on the line. We just tried to pull all of the stops in such a competitive cross country conference. The conditions were messy, but that's a part of the sport. Everyone has to deal with it, and I think our men did a good job running together."

Bradley University placed first with 17 points after being led by Jake Hoffert's first-place finish with a time of 24:46.03. Hoffert led the 1-2-3-4 finish for the Braves, which included a second-place finish by his twin brother, Luke. Drake came in second with three top-15 finishes, while Northern Iowa finished four points ahead of Loyola for third place after having runners finish in 5^th and 6^th.

On the women's side, the Salukis took seventh in the five-kilometer with 168 total points. Senior Megan Krolak earned All-MVC honors for the second time in her career after placing 14^th with a time of 18:47.32. Fellow senior Olivia Murphy placed 21^st after posting a 19:03.25 mark. Rounding out the Salukis was Madison Decker (44^th), Fallon Russell (45^th), Madeline Hurt (50^th), Rachel Anderson (51^st), Sydney Matusik (58^th) and Grace McDurmon (67^th).

"Our women had to follow the men on the course, so they definitely battled through even messier conditions," said Joseph. "They fought through it though. Our top three were competitive. Megan Krolak finished in the top-15, Olivia Murphy came back from her injury to be our number two and Madison Decker – what can I say? She came to us in the middle of last season as a senior, running for fun on her own, and ended up being our number three. There's a good young group behind them, so I'm looking forward to everyone continuing to grow from this experience."

Loyola's women took home the first team title in program history after setting a new MVC-record score of 17 points. The Ramblers set the mark with a 1-2-3-4-7 finish that was led by Anneka Murrin, who won the individual title with a time of 17:59.97. The Bradley Braves placed second with 64 points, while Indiana State took home third after recording 92 points. Illinois State's fourth-place finish was the program's best over the last 15 seasons.

The men and women of Southern Illinois will return to post-season action in two weeks when they head to Stillwater, Okla., for the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship.

Men's Team Scores
1. Bradley – 17 points
2. Drake – 74 points
3. Northern Iowa – 94 points
4. Loyola – 98 points
5. Valparaiso – 134 points
6. Illinois State – 136 points
7. Southern Illinois – 170 points
8. Indiana State – 220 points
9. Evansville – 279 points

Men's All-Conference First Team
Jake Hoffert, Bradley
Luke Hoffert, Bradley
Matt Richtman, Bradley
Ben Potrykus, Bradley
Wal Khat, Northern Iowa
CJ May, Northern Iowa
Jack Franklin, Bradley
Alexander Bruno, Valparaiso
Kyle Brandt, Drake
Riley Demeulenarere, Loyola

Men's All-Conference Honorable Mention
Matt Blanco, Illinois State
Adam Fogg, Drake
Dominic Paoletti, Valparaiso
Drew Wenger, Bradley
Maximillian Fridrich, Drake

Women's Team Scores
1. Loyola – 17 points
2. Bradley – 64 points
3. Indiana State – 92 points
4. Illinois State – 133 points
5. Missouri State – 146 points
6. Northern Iowa – 163 points
7. Southern Illinois – 168 points
8. Drake – 215 points
9. Valparaiso – 234 points
10. Evansville – 249 points

Women's All-Conference First Team
Anneka Murrin, Loyola
Mimi Reimers, Loyola
Tarynn Cullings, Loyola
Kathleen Simms, Loyola
Anna Lowry, Evansville
Brooke Moore, Indiana State
Sophia Noto, Loyola
Rachel Hickey, Illinois State
McKenzie Altmayer, Bradley
Tyler Schwartz, Bradley

Women's All-Conference Honorable Mention
Ayah Aldadah, Bradley
McKayla Cole, Northern Iowa
Alli Workman, Indiana State
Megan Krolak, Southern Illinois
Abby Jockisch, Bradley

Specialty Awards
Men's Athlete of the Year: Jake Hoffert, Bradley
Men's Elite 17: Jack Franklin, Bradley
Men's Freshman of the Year: Matthew Richtman, Bradley
Men's Coach of the Year, Darren Gauson, Bradley
Women's Athlete of the Year: Anneka Murrin, Loyola
Women's Elite 17: Rachel Hickey, Illinois State
Women's Freshman of the Year: Sophia McDonnel, Bradley
Women's Coach of the Year: Alan Peterson, Loyola

Complete Results