Wheaton, IL – After severe heat canceled the H.W. Wright Classic earlier this month, forecasted weather did not bode well for the 2026 Gil Dodds Invitational, hosted by Wheaton College. Event officials decided to move the meet up a day and Millikin University cross country finally opened the 2026 season on Thursday evening. Millikin ran well on both sides, with the men finishing in third place and the women finishing in eighth.
Junior Reece Peters led the way on the men's side for the Big Blue, finishing 11th with a time of 25:50.1. Senior Aiden Pacunas finished 32nd with a time of 26:40.7. He was followed by fellow senior William Turvey with a time of 26:47.2 in 36th. Fourteen seconds later, Joey McGinn crossed the finish line in 41st at 27:01.5, and sophomore Joshua LaChance ran a 27:15.8 to place 50th. Two places later, Talan Thrasher finished in 52nd with a 27:16.9. Ryne Norton rounded out the top seven for the Big Blue with a mark of 27:31.0 in 61st.
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On the women's side, sophomore Lindsey Klaus crossed the finish line first for the Big Blue with a time of 24:16.4 to place 44th. Twelve seconds later, Jillian Conlon finished in 49th at 24:28.8. Kiley Coker ran a 24:48.6 to take 56th place. Junior Teyla Wendt followed four places later in 60th with a time of 24:52.9. Emma Matthews finished with a time of 24:55.3 in 64th place. Freshman Emily Urbanski placed 78th with a time of 25:40.7, and fellow freshman Alaina Karker completed the top seven with a time of 25:44.6 in 81st.
Coach Craycraft on team performances
Quoting director of cross country and track and field Andrew Craycraft:
On the men's team performance:
"I was happy with the guy's race. This team has some pretty good depth, and we ran a good team race showcasing some of that. We have some progress we need to make in terms of execution, and we are missing an important piece from our roster today, but I'm confident in our preparation at this time of year and I'm looking forward to our next opportunity to race."
On the women's team performance:
"We entered the day with a very conservative race plan. While the women did an excellent job of following the script, on a narrow course, our start put us in a tough position, and we got buried too far back in the field. Ultimately, we had a lot of ground to make up. This hurt our team score and overall results, but the feedback from the team was very encouraging and I am confident we are on the right track with our training."
The Big Blue return to action on Saturday, October 3, when they travel to Rock Island, Illinois, for the Brissman Lundeen Invitational.
