Chicago, Ill. - Off and running for the 2024 season, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's and women's cross country teams raced in the North Park-CUC Early Invitational on Friday, August 30th hosted by North Park University and Concordia University Chicago.
Both sides began the season with the 5K race at Schiller Woods East. On the men's side, the Hawks placed 4th in the team category. The Hawks got an early look at some Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) competition as Aurora University and Concordia University Chicago competed on the men's and women's side.
RESULTS
On the men's side for the 5K, Joey Loriso crossed the finish line in 9th place overall with a time of 15:29.6. With this time, Loriso broke the 18-year-old Illinois Tech Cross Country Record for the men's 5K. Coming in behind Loriso was John McCullough and Gabe Durazo. McCullough finished with a time of 16:02.3 for 27th place while Durazo followed right behind him with a time of 16:03.8 for 28th place. Closely following was Alejandro Torres with a time of 16:14.4 for 32nd place. McCullough, Durazo, and Torres took spots 2-4 in the Illinois Tech Cross Country Record Book respectively.
In the women's 5K, junior Sophia Halama led the way for the Hawks with a time of 20:20.3, earning her an 8th place finish. Valerie Lending came in with a time of 22:29.7, taking 25th. Closing out the Hawk's top three women's finishers was Isabelle Pullen with a time of 25:53.2 for 39th place.
HEAD COACH TYLER MCQUALITY'S COMMENTS
"I am really happy with our attitude, performance, and team camaraderie at our first meet! We have built great momentum during the first couple of weeks of practice, and we saw that translate into the races. Now back to work for the next two weeks before getting to preview the NACC course."
ASSISTANT COACH EVAN BALIZADO'S COMMENTS
"Great first meet for our team! We had our first glimpse of some conference opponents, and we competed well. Also, we happened to take down the oldest Cross Country School Record on the books in the Men's 5k. Shout-out to Joey for breaking an 18-year-old record! We are just getting started!"
UP NEXT
The Hawks now have two weeks to prepare for their next meet. The Hawks will return to the course on Saturday, September 14th when they compete in the Spartan Invitational hosted by Aurora University in Geneva Ill. This meet, which will take place at Northwestern Medicine XC Course, will give the Hawks a chance to race on the same course as the NACC Championships this season. The women's race is set to begin at 9:30 AM with the men's following at 10:30 AM.
