The University of Illinois Springfield cross country programs ended their regular seasons on Saturday morning in Huntsville, Ala. at the UAH Charger Cross Country Invitational. Against the largest field of runners that they have faced this year, the men's team finished seventh, while the women were 16th.
 
The men's race included 33 teams, including five nationally-ranked Division II programs, and it had a total of 341 runners. UIS finished seventh overall with 194 points, just one shy of sixth. Its top five runners had an average time of 24:48 on the 8,000m course, with a spread of just over a minute.
 
Cort Ross led the Prairie Stars with a top-ten finish. He came in ninth with a time of 24:09, just 22 seconds behind the individual champion. Blake Jones had a top-20 showing as he came in 18^th with a mark of 24:21.
 
The trio of Wyatt McIntyre, Chris Cherry, and Ryan Jones rounded out the team's scoring. McIntyre was 54^th with a time of 25:05, Cherry finished three seconds later in 58^th, and Ryan Jones was 66^th with a mark of 25:16. Also on the team, Gabe Martinez was 70^th with a time of 25:22, and Ryan Stark was 83^rd after finishing in 25:39.
 
The women's race also had 33 programs, with three nationally-ranked teams. A total of 292 runners competed in the 5,000m race. UIS scored 411 points for its 16^th-place showing. The team's top five runners averaged a time of 19:08, and there was a 2:22 spread between the first and fifth runner.
 
Taryn Christy made her season debut for UIS and led the team with a 21^st-place finish. She had a time of 18:02, which was a new UIS record for the 5,000m distance.
 
Gloria Esarco came in 36^th overall with a time of 18:15.46. Also in the top-100 was Jordan Serrahn who had a time of 19:18.31.

Rounding out the top-five for the team were Alexa Thomsen with a mark of 19:43, and Emma West with a time of 20:24. Other times for UIS were Libby Price and Lexi Throne both finishing in 20:50, Jade Anderson having a time of 21:11, and Morgan Suttles completing the race in 21:51.
 
UIS will be in action again on Oct. 23 when it competes in the GLVC Championships in Romeoville, Ill.