Oct. 16, 2010

PEORIA, Ill.- Five Cougars turned in personal-best times for the men's cross country team. The Cougars finished 19th at the Bradley Classic.

The Cougars turned in a combined score of 511.

"This group has improved tremendously since the first week," Head Coach Eileen McAllister said. "They have worked very hard the past few months and it is showing."

Junior Marc Amarillas paced the Cougars with a personal-best time of 25:49, to finish 79th out of 211 competitors. Amarillas beat his previous best by 29 seconds. It is the first time he has broken the 26-minute barrier in an 8,000 meter race.

Sophomores Aaron Werths, Campbell Walters and Brad Walwer along with junior Shawn Dillard also tied or beat personal records Friday.

Werths tied his personal best with a time of 26:08, to finish 107th. He turned in the same time earlier this season at Eastern Illinois. Dillard was just seven seconds behind Werths. He topped his previous best time by 23 seconds. He finished in 115th place with a time of 26:15. Walters finshed 126th with a time of 26:24, besting his old time by 48 seconds. Walwer took 15 seconds off his best time, finishing in 26:57. Walters finished in 153rd place.

Freshman J.D. Wynn, competing in his hometown, turned in a time of 28:16.

The Cougars conclude the season with the SIUE CC Open Friday beginning at 4:45 p.m.

"They ran a smart race today," McAllister added. "Their team chemistry is awesome right now. I'm very excited to see what they do next week on our home course."