PEORIA, IL – Junior Reece Peters and sophomore Emma Mathews led Millikin cross country to top-five and top-15 team finishes, respectively, on Friday at the 22nd Bradley "Pink" Classic.  

Peters finished 24th in the Men's White Race with a time of 25:12.2. The mark was the fastest 8K time of Peters' collegiate career and places him 2nd all-time in Big Blue recorded history.  

Three other runners for the men ran their way into the top 25 all-time. Junior Joey McGinn (43rd/25:45.7), sophomore Josh LaChance (53rd/25:53.7), and senior Aiden Pacunas (56th/25:56.4) now rank 12th, 19th, and 22nd, respectively.  Sophomore Talan Thrasher (73rd/26:13.5) and senior Will Turvey (84th/26:23.4) also finished in the top 100. Junior captain Aaron Mohr rounded out Millikin's top seven, finishing 109th with a time of 26:46.5.  

Mathews broke her career-best 6K time for the second consecutive meet, finishing at 23:20.7 in the Women's White Race, placing her just outside the top 50 at 54th.

Also competing for the women were sophomores Lindsey Klaus (64th/23:32.7) and Jillian Conlon (79th/23:39.7). Junior Teyla Wendt (90th/24:01.0), sophomore Kiley Coker (99th/24:19.9), and sophomore Brynn Behrmann (100th/24:20.1) all finished in the top 100. Freshman Alaina Karker (110th/24:47.7) rounds out the top seven for the Big Blue.  

Quoting Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Andrew Craycraft

On the men's team performance:

"Our men ran great today. I'm really excited about where this group is at. The work they've put in has brought us along nicely and it has translated to them competing in a more confident way."

On the women's team performance:

"The women continue to show great investment in the process. We have an exciting dynamic where there are no assumed roles and they are out there competing for one another. I'm confident our best racing is ahead of us."

Millikin cross country rests next week as the team prepares for the CCIW Championship meet on Saturday, Oct. 31 in Warrenville, Illinois.