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Ellis & Willis Top finishers for racers at MVC Championship

The Murray State men’s cross country team came home with an 11th-place finish Friday at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Freshman Dylan Ellis and oldest Jarod Willis placed their names in the top 5 of all time at Murray State for the 8K distance. Ellis placed 60th and clocked a time of 25:20, while Willis placed 64th with a time of 25:25.

“The race went fast for our guys, which was expected, but the strategy was to be smart in those first 2km and not get caught up in the main pack,” said Racers’ Coach. Jordan Johnston. “I think they did a good job with 7 out of 9 of our runners moving up in places over the second half of the race. Dylan moved up the most with a 6 place improvement from 4km to the finish which ultimately put him at the 5th fastest time in school history which is incredible for a freshman who Jarod has patiently improved his time over the last 5 years and to be honest, early in his career, I didn’t think finishing in our top 10 would be a success. But he showed a lot of perseverance and set his expectations higher than we had hoped, and I am so proud of him for having the biggest PR of the day with a 34 second improvement and the 6th fastest time in school history. I think it is important to draw attention to the 5th senior Nathan Quinns performance. He received the Racer Heart award in 2023 after suffering a devastating injury, but his relentless passion for running and this team has allowed him to run within two seconds of his lifetime PR and finish fourth for us today. Despite some of the individual success we had today, I’m not happy with our team’s finish. I expect more from the men and they also expect more from themselves. I hope these conference championships will lead them to a more competitive future.”

For more information about the Murray State track and field team, visit GoRacers.com or follow @RacersXCTF on Instagram and

Missouri Valley Conference championship
November 1, 2024
Pheasant Ridge Golf Course
Cedar Falls, Iowa

Team

Bradley 42 points
State of Illinois 51
Belmont 60
Dragons 86
State of Indiana 145
UIC 158
Northern Iowa 213
Valparaiso 229
Southern Illinois 277
Evansville 285
Murray State 312

Individually

60 Dylan Ellis 25:20.0
64 Jarod Willis 25:25.0
76 Gabe Russell 26:30.9
77 Nathan Quinn 26:39.8
79 Then Schalk 26:44.9
80 Kellen Hottel 26:45.1
81 Jackson Custer 27:11.5
83 Joey Santoro 27:21.0
86 Ben Krask 27:51.9

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