by Eric Willuweit

Elmhurst, Ill. – The Illinois Tech cross-country team kicked off their season Friday evening at Eldridge Park in Elmhurst for the annual Elmhurst Earlybird Invitational.

The Scarlet Hawks competed with runners from eight other schools in the region.

On the men’s side, the Scarlet Hawks finished fifth out of nine teams in the 6k competition. Joey Loriso paced the men’s team with a time of 20:59 and a pace of 5:26. Loriso finished 28^th overall out of 118 runners. Nicholas Quigley was next on the men’s team with 21:20/5:43, placing 35^th. Alejandro Torres rounded out the top three on the men’s team with 21:42/5:49, placing 44^th. The top five average time for the men’s squad was 22:00.

On the women’s side, the Scarlet Hawks finished sixth out of eight teams in the 4k competition. Hayley Blanton led the women’s team with a time of 18:08 and a pace of 7:18. Sophia Halama finished next for the women’s team at 18:39/7:30, followed by Annika McKown at 19:18/7:46. The top five average time for the women’s team was 21:28.

Next Up

The Scarlet Hawks cross-country team will travel to Geneva, Illinois on Saturday, September 10^th for the Aurora University Spartan Classic.