Warrenville, Ill. – On Saturday, September 20th, Illinois Tech Cross Country competed at the Gil Dodds Invitational at St. James Farm, hosted by Wheaton College. 

The Scarlet Hawks, who last competed on September 6th, carried on with the season, with the men's team finishing in 19th place and women's teams finishing in 14th place. 

The Scarlet Hawks delivered strong performances this weekend with multiple personal records. First-year Brianna Sorrillo ran a 25:07.00 to move into 17th in the Women's 6K record book, while Senior Rachel Brettin followed closely with a 25:07.50, now 18th all-time. First-year Genesis De La Garza Moron cut 21 seconds off her best with a 34:03.40. On the men's side, Freshman Davin Mikulcik posted a 23-second PR with a time of 31:06.30. 

Assistant Coach Evan Balizado is super proud of the way the Scarlet Hawks performed.

"Great showing from our mens and women's side," said Balizado. "Our freshman are gaining valuable experience at the 6k and 8k. Today we focused on the second half of the race and competing and I think we saw some excellent finishes as a result." 

Mikulcik felt he learned more about how to pace himself while competing in only his second 8k event.

"My race went very well," said Mikulcik."I'm still figuring out how to gauge my energy in the first few kilometers of an 8K, but it's getting easier every time. I started the race a bit quick, but held my pace throughout the middle and pushed it through the finish for a 23 second pr (personal record). It was a beautiful course, and I couldn't have asked for better weather." 

Top Performers 

Men's 8k   

Davin Mikulcik – 31:06.30   

Women's 6k 

Brianna Sorrillo – 25:07.00  

Rachel Brettin – 25:07.50 

Up Next 

The Scarlet Hawks will rest this weekend before resuming competition on Saturday, October 4th, at the Brisman Lundeen Invitational at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, IL.