The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's cross country team knocked off five 8K school records while powering to eighth place during the Blue race of the 45-team Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
 
"I'm very happy with the result," UIS assistant coach Tyler Pence said. There were a lot of PRs for both the men and the women. It's great for this team to get this opportunity early in the season to compete against many high-caliber teams. It was also great to see how we line up against some other teams in the conference."
 
In addition to breaking UIS's overall 8K record, the Prairie Stars set the fastest 8K times in program history ran by a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. UIS's top three finishers broke their personal records (PR) by more than 45 seconds.
 
"Everyone ran great," UIS head coach Scott Slade acknowledged. "This shows how much our team has improved over last year."
 
The Prairie Stars claimed eighth with a team score of 309.
 
Kenton Wilson captured 39th with a school record time of 25 minutes, 43.7 seconds. The senior from Shelbyville also clocked the fastest 8K time in school history by a senior while busting his PR by 1:05.8.
 
Tyler Hiserote took 50th (25:55.7) while putting together the third-fastest time in UIS history and the UIS 8K record by a junior. The Bartonville native topped his PR by 45.3 seconds.
 
Ryan Stark earned 64th (26:07.3) while compiling the fifth-fastest time in UIS history and the UIS 8K record by a sophomore. The Mapleton native took down his PR by 45.1 seconds.
 
Tyler Pasley locked up 77th (26:12.7) and a PR. The sophomore from Shelbyville recorded the seventh-fastest time in UIS history and the second-fastest time by a sophomore.
 
Blake Jones secured 79th (26:13.7) and improved his UIS 8K freshman record. The Lincoln native turned in the 10th-fastest time in school history.
 
Brendan Kroeger finished 91st (26:25.1) while putting together a PR and the fifth-fastest time by a UIS junior.
 
Alex Phelps came in 152nd (26:55.4) after crushing his PR by 1:11.4 and recording the ninth-fastest time by a UIS junior.
 
Thomas Wuchte raced to 163rd (26:58.9) while breaking his PR by 29.7 seconds and posting the seventh-fastest time by a UIS freshman.
 
Elliot Nabatov ran to 198th (27:16.9) and Trevor Dunkel placed 262nd (27:49.6).
 
Thirteen teams in the Blue race are either nationally-ranked or receiving votes, nationally. The University of Southern Indiana is ranked No. 9 in the latest United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II poll. Rhodes College is tied for 16th in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division III poll. In the latest USTFCCCA National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll, Saint Francis University is ranked No. 11, Indiana Wesleyan University is ranked No. 12, Montreat College is ranked No. 23, the University of Cumberlands is ranked No. 24 and the Indiana Institute of Technology is ranked No. 25. Cumberland University, Campbellsville University, Goshen College, Bethel University and Point Park University are each receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA NAIA poll. Lansing Community College is ranked No. 11 in the latest USTFCCCA National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I poll.
 
St. Francis secured first in the team standings with 146 points. Mississippi College came in second with 146 points, finishing ahead of Southwest Baptist University (228), Hillsdale College (258), Missouri S&T (284), NCAA Division III's DePauw University (300), Roberts Wesleyan University (306), UIS (309), the University of Indianapolis and NCAA Division I's Mercer University (365), which rounds out the top 10 of the 45-team field.
 
Hillsdale's Joseph Humes captured first after clocking a time of 24:17.8 to top the 412-individual field.
 
"We believe that we can be even better and will continue to work hard to do even greater things."
 
"There is still a lot of work to do, but this was a big step in the right direction," Pence stated.
 
UIS is slated for the Lewis Conference Cross-Over next Saturday at 10 a.m. in Romeoville.