GREENVILLE, Ill. – The McKendree men's cross country team had a breakout meet on a rainy day at Greenville, placing second as a team with their pack-running strategy helping three athletes finish in the top 15.
Junior Diego Paz Denis paced the Bearcats with a fifth-place finish and a new personal best of 26:38.61. Close behind was freshman Cole Dachsteiner, who finished ninth in 26:48.69, improving his personal best by more than a minute. Also finishing in the race's top 15 was freshman Brendan Santellan, who recorded the biggest improvement on the team with a time of 27:09.27, beating his previous personal best by more than 90 seconds. Sophomore Reed Florey and freshman Anthony Tillman rounded out the Bearcats' top five, placing 21st and 22nd, respectively, with times of 27:30.76 and 27:31.39. Tillman also set a new personal best. Sophomore Elijah Baer placed 44th with a new personal best of 28:36.61, followed closely by senior Ostin Habeck, who finished 53rd in 28:53.67, also setting a personal best. Sophomore Ryder Ottolini finished 57th in 29:19.83, improving his personal best by 40 seconds. These results meant that every Bearcat finished the 8K at a pace faster than six minutes per mile.
The Bearcats' average time among their top five scorers improved by 40 seconds, dropping to 27:07. In 2024, no individual Bearcat ran that fast at this point in the season, but now that time is just an average for the team. The spread among the top five runners was just 52 seconds, highlighting the effectiveness of the team's pack-running strategy and how the freshmen followed the veterans to deliver impressive performances.
2026 Greenville Classic Scores:
1. Lake Land – 28 pts
2. Mckendree – 66 pts
3. S.M.W.C. – 89 pts
4. M.A.C – 98 pts
5. Greenville – 121 pts
6. Kaskaskia – 147 pts
7. Joliet J.C. – 209 pts
8. I.C. – 217 pts
9. Jeff. Co. – 251 pts
10. Moody Bible – 268 pts
11. Eureka C.– 283 pts
12. Blackburn – 300 pts
The McKendree cross country team will compete next on Saturday, October 24, at the Mikayla Sherrill Fall Classic. The Bearcats will have one final chance to record fast times on another flat course before their conference meet.
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