Cross country races strong at tough Bradley meet

Absolutely brutal heat and humidity did not stop the Monmouth College cross country teams from running to several honor roll performances last Friday at Bradley University.

On the men’s side, junior Griff Morrill led the way, posting a Monmouth honor roll time of 27:01, beating numerous Division One runners. Riley Dulin came in second for the men with a time of 27:32. Freshman Shay Hafner finished third on the team, racing to a time of 29:02. Another freshman, Alex Urbina, raced to an impressive 29:33 on a hot and muggy day. Rounding out the top seven for the were Tanner Heiple, CJ Bonifer, and Mike Bersell.

For the women, sophomore Caroline Young paced the Scots, breaking the 19 minute mark on the three mile course, finishing with an 18:52. Next was Arika Hofmann, who was not far behind with a time of 19:07. Ezzie Baltierra-Chavez, a week after scoring the game winning goal in overtime for the soccer team, had a strong performance on the course, finishing third for the women. Another sophomore, Mik Moore, raced to a 70th place finish, with the entire top four for the Monmouth women all running honor roll times. Rounding out the top seven for the women were Julia Sterr, Caitlyn Allen, and Kara Fisher.

The Scots have an off week to focus on training before heading to the Dan Huston Invitational hosted by Wartburg College. That race is on Saturday, Oct. 5, and will be one of the premier Division III races of the weekend.

Riley Dulin - Contributing Writer