Running without fear and with a plan in place, the Cyclone men's cross country team earned their program's third Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship and saw two runners finish first and second. They hosted the final meet of the year.
Since the first meet of their shortened season, freshman Jackson Sima and sophomore Carlos Galvan talked about finishing first and second in the race. And they did just that. They became the first runners in either the men's or women's program to finish a conference meet 1-2.
"We knew the course well, where to kick and the best spots. Early on we led. The other teams were unfamiliar with our course on campus, so we took it to our advantage and left them behind," Galvan said. "I never went top 10 in high school, and here I'm No. 2. This is a new feeling."
"You couldn't ask for better weather, and that helped our plan. Plus, I couldn't ask for a better team and their encouragement. We have great chemistry and made something of this crappy year," Sima added.
The duo took the lead early and only widened the gap as the race went on. Sima finished first in 28:05 with Galvan right behind in 28:16. Two other Cyclones finished in the top 10 for honors and a medal. Jimmy Duffy ran a personal best in 29:51 for eighth while Nick Tsiones came in at 30:18 for 10th. Right behind him was Sebastian Szuba (30:23, 11th), Juan Ramos (30:59, 12th) and Adael Jaimes-Sotelo (31:49, 13th)
The last time the Cyclones won a conference championship and had four All-Conference runners was in 2016.
"I'm proud and impressed with what the men accomplished. We went into the conference meet knowing we could win if we ran without fear, and that's what they did. Jackson and Carlos talked about finishing first and second, so to see them actually do it and make school history was wonderful," said Head Coach Dimitri Dimizas. "Jimmy ran a huge PR for eighth and Nick held onto 10th, and then I saw Szuba and Juan come in right after them. AJ came into the final 400m a few seconds behind a Morton runner. We talked about not letting any school finish between us, so he did exactly what I knew he could do and kicked him down to end the race with a big PR. I hope they savor the victory but also use it as motivation to accomplish even more next season."
For complete race results, visit 2020 RESULTS.
