The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's cross country team earned sixth place in Saturday's Festival Year Fiasco at Evansville, Ind.
 
UIS put together a team score of 129 points.

"Good teams struggle sometimes," UIS head coach Scott Slade said. "We did not have a good day. The true test is how people respond to setbacks. We have not lost sight of who we are or what we are capable of doing.​"
 
"We had some solid individual performances, but overall, it was not our best day on the course," UIS assistant coach Tyler Pence added.
 
Tyler Pasley captured 15th with an 8K time of 26 minutes, 14.3 seconds to lead the Prairie Stars. The sophomore from Shelbyville put together the third-fastest time in UIS history by a sophomore.
 
Tyler Hiserote took 18th (26:30.9) and contributed the seventh-fastest time in program history by a junior.
 
Ryan Stark secured 24th (26:39.0) along with the sixth-fastest time in UIS history by a sophomore.
 
Blake Jones claimed 36th overall and 35th in the college division with a time of 26:58.0, which is the seventh-fastest time by a UIS freshman.
 
Brendan Kroeger locked up 38th (27:06.8), Trevor Dunkel finished in 44th (27:25.1), Thomas Wuchte came in 53rd (27:36.7) and Alex Phelps earned 55th (27:37.1). Jake Schwartz secured 57th (27:41.4) and improved his season best by 23.6 seconds.
 
Emmons King closed out in 76th (29:01.3), Patrik Elkins claimed 87th (30:12.4), Drew Detmer finished 90th (30:41.6) and Drake Claxton placed 97th (32:27.7).
 
California State Polytechnic University Ponoma topped the team standings with a score of 44. The University of Southern Indiana, which is tied for 25th in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II poll, came in second with 55 points, finishing ahead of Lindenwood University (94), the University of Indianapolis (119), Lewis University (120), UIS (129), Bellarmine University (150) and Trevecca Nazarene University (201), which rounds out the team standings.
 
Southern Indiana locked up the top two spots, individually, as its top two finishers were separated by one-tenth of a second. Austin Nolan took first (25:11.0) while Titus Winders captured second (25:11.1).
 
"It was a good learning experience and a wake-up call as we head into championship season. We've got two weeks to get ready for when it matters."
 
UIS resumes action in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championships on Nov. 3 at 10:30 a.m. CT in Louisville, Ky.