West Central Reporter

The Western Illinois University cross country team will compete in the Redbird Invite at Illinois State University this Friday. The event will take place at the Weibring Golf Course in Normal, Illinois, with the men's 8K race starting at 9 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at 9:45 a.m.

Participating teams include Western Illinois, Northern Iowa, Wartburg, Southeastern Missouri State, Illinois Wesleyan, and Chicago State.

Last week at the Huskie Opener hosted by Northern Illinois University, both the men's and women's teams from Western Illinois finished second overall. On the men's side, Robert Perry led with a third-place finish in the 6K (18:46.64), achieving a personal record. Logan Beckmier placed sixth (19:14.40), also setting a personal best. Brody Harker (13th, 20:12.69) and Evan Eberhart (14th, 20:21.27) contributed to the team's runner-up position.

For the women’s team, Lydia Bennett recorded a personal-best time of 18:46.30 to finish sixth in the 5K race. Emma-Kate Watt finished eleventh (19:10.8), while Deana Hudson (14th, 19:17.51) and Aylana Cezar (15th, 19:20.60) helped secure second place for their team.

The next scheduled meet for Western Illinois cross country is on Friday, September 26 at Missouri's Gans Creek Classic.

Fans can follow updates on Leatherneck Cross Country through GoLeathernecks.com as well as on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.