Illinois Wesleyan 2007 Cross Country Stories

Also see other stories, previous seasons, etc. at Cross Country Archives

October 27
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished sixth (of seven) and the men's team was seventh (of eight) at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship meet, held Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Illinois State University Golf Course in Normal. The women's team had 134 points and was led by the 15th place finish of Amy Burns at 24:11.45. Megan Gleason finished 27th with a time of 24:34.12. The Titan men, who had a 207 score, were paced by Lane Coonrod, who was 30th in 27:10.05, and Adam Wentland, whose time of 28:43.78 got him in 42nd. North Central won the men's event with 37 points and Wheaton won the women's title with 41.

October 13
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team was 21st of 27 and the men's team was 22nd of 25 at the Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitationals hosted by Wis.-LaCrosse at Maple Grove Country Club in West Salem, Wis., on Saturday, Oct. 13. The women had 581 points and were led by a 90th place finish by Mary Ellen Barron (24:11), while Amy Burns was 101st (24:24) and Allison L'Hotta placed 124th (24:45). The men had 677 points as Lane Coonrod placed 85th (27:31) and Connor McGee was 146th (29:12). The women's team winner was Division I Minnesota (120 points) and the Division III leader was Wis.-Eau Claire (141) while the men's champion was Wis.-LaCrosse with a total of 75. The Titans' next competition will be in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin meet on October 27.

October 5
The Illinois Wesleyan women's cross country team finished second of five and the men's team was fourth of eight competing in the Millikin Fast Times Challenge, held at Hickory Point Golf Course in Forsyth, Ill., on Friday, Oct. 5. The women had 54 points and Mary Ellen Barron finished eighth with her time of 24:34. Amy Burns (24:49), Katelyn Draths (25:17), Megan Gleason (25:20) and Allison L'Hotta (25:24) finished 10th through 13th, respectively. Lane Coonrod paced the Titan men with a 10th place finish in a time of 27:25 as the men scored 98 points. Adam Wentland finished 19th (29:01) and Keith Lehuta (29:09) was s20th. Division II powerhouse Southern Indiana won both the men's and women's events and got all seven top finishes in the women's race.

September 21
The Illinois Wesleyan women's cross country team finished 12th of 26 teams and the men's team placed 21st of 32 schools running in the Brissman-Lundeen Invitational in Davenport, Iowa on Friday, Sept. 21. The women had 329 points and were led by Mary Ellen Barron, who finished 25th with a time of 24:05. Allison L'Hotta was 67th (24:48) and Katelyn Draths was 69th (24:52).The men had 587 points and Lane Coonrod was the low finisher in 46th place with his time of 27:38. Adam Chambers was 114th (29:08) and Joe Campbell was 136th (29:39). Wis.-Parkside won the women's meet with 70 points and Augustana claimed the men's meet with 43 points. The Titans will race next on Friday, Oct. 5 in the Millikin Challenge in Decatur.

September 14
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished 10th of 20 overall and the men's team was 18th of 22 squads competing in the Illinois Intercollegiate Meet, run at Weibring Golf Course at Illinois State University on Friday, Sept. 14. The women's team had the fifth best showing among the 14 college division teams running as Amy Burns  turned in the women's low time in the 5K, finishing 40th with a time of 19:18.51. Vanessa Jones was 50th with her time of 19:31.56. For the men, Lane Coonrod finished 77th to lead the Titans with a time of 26:41.59.

August 31
The Illinois Wesleyan women's cross country team finished fourth of 13 teams and the men's team placed sixth of 16 at the Elmhurst Earlybird Invitational on August 31 in Elmhurst. The women scored 127 points and were led by senior Mary Ellen Barron, who placed 16th with a time of 16:06.10. Sophomore Kerry Devitt was 17th at 16:07.95. The men had 219 points and senior Lane Coonrod placed 13th with his time of 19:58.17. Joe Campbell earned a 56th place finish in his first college race. The women's event was won by Loras with 42 points while the University of Chicago took the men's team crown with 36 points.

July 6
The Illinois Wesleyan cross country teams will open their 2007 season at the Elmhurst Invitational at 5 p.m. on August 31. Head coach Greg Huffaker has 18 letterwinners returning for this season, including Lane Coonrod, last year’s men’s "Most Valuable Performer." He was IWU’s low finisher in six meets in 2006, including a 29th place finish at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin meet and a 54th place finish in the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional. Also returning are Katelyn Draths and Jay Paynda, their respective teams’ “Hardest Workers”, along with Kerry Devitt and Walter Farris, who were honored as the “Best Newcomers.”