(Peoria, IL.) - Waubonsee Community College Cross Country runners took part in the Bradley University Intercollegiate Meet at historic Detweiler Park on Saturday, September 20. Runners from a dozen different colleges representing NCAA Division I and Division III levels, along with several junior colleges were among the competitors. Waubonsee's men's team placed eighth overall in the team standings with freshman David Valkanov turning in one of the best times ever for a Chiefs' runner. The Kaneland High School product finished with a sub 26 minute time over the 8K course, the sixth best time ever for a Waubonsee men's runner. Valkanov crossed the finish line 14th overall among the 88 particpants in the men's race posting a time of 25:56. The Chiefs' Luis Baez placed 38th, while Dayton Beatty was not far behind him in 42nd place. Finn Gannon came in 58th and Landon Godee was 65th to round out Waubonsee's contingent as the Chiefs tallied a team score of 217.
Bradley University won the team title with a perfect score of 15 points with Loras (IA.) College a distant second with 61 points. Indian Hills (IA.) Community College was third, Southern Illinois University placed fourth, Maryville (MO.) University came in fifth, Monmouth (IL.) College finished sixth and Illinois College was seventh. A trio of teams finished behind the Chiefs with Carl Sandburg (IL.) College ninth, Eureka (IL.) College 10th and Blackburn (IL.) College in 11th place. The Braves' Michael Rebello won the men's race booking a time of 24:50, finishing eight seconds ahead of his teammate Parker Nold.
In the women's race Waubonsee finished ninth in the team standings with a score of 256. Megan Johnson paced the Chiefs with a 38th place finish among the 100 runners who competed in the 5K race, posting a time of 20:33. Alexandra Lemke came in 50th, Leliarosa Bonilla placed 53rd, Crystal Torres finished 55th and Addison Talley was 60th to account for Waubonsee's scoring. Bradley University also won the women's team title with a score of just 17, well ahead of second place Truman (IL.) College's 53 points. Loras was third, Southern Illinois University was fourth, Maryville placed fifth, Indian Hills took sixth, Sandburg was seventh, Illinois College was eight and Blackburn was 10th in the team scoring. The Braves' Nadia Potgieter won the women's race in a time of 16:32, nearly 0:22 ahead of her teammate Abigail Hancock.