The University of Illinois Springfield cross country teams competed at the Spartan Invitational on Friday morning, an event that included seven NCAA Division I programs as well as some NCAA Divisional II regional rivals. The men's team came in eighth overall, while the women's squad was 13th.
 
The men's team finished with 230 points, finishing ahead of five NCAA Division I schools and GLVC rival Indianapolis. Grand Valley State won the race with 35 points.
 
Cort Ross had the best day for the Prairie Stars, finishing 11th out of 267 runners in the men's 8,000m race. He had a time of 25:22, a new personal-best for him at that distance.
 
Chris Cherry was second on the team and 36th overall after having a time of 26:08. Wyatt McIntyre was third with a mark of 26:55. Five UIS runners finished between 27 and 28 minutes. Those athletes were Layne Hill, Gabe Martinez, Ryan Stark, Ryan Jones, and Trevor Dunkel.
 
On the women's side, UIS scored 415 points in the race, finishing just ahead of St. Norbert for 13th-place. Michigan State won the competition with 36 points.
 
Gloria Esarco had the best finish for the Prairie Stars, coming in 33rd out of 236 runners. She was ninth out of the NCAA Division II runners after completing the 6,000m course in 23:05.
 
Jordan Serrahn was second on the team with a time of 25:03, followed by Jade Anderson with a mark of 25:30. Emma West and Lexi Throne rounded out the team's scoring. West had a time of 26:04, while Throne had a time of 26:48. Libby Price finished with a mark of 27:27, and Morgan Suttles rounded out the lineup with a time of 27:56.
 
UIS will be in action again on Oct. 9 when it competes at the UAH Invitational in Huntsville, Ala.