Murray State
Missouri Valley Conference
Ellis & Willis Top Finishers For Racers at MVC Championship
11/1/2024 2:37:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
The MSU duo put their names into the top-5 all-time at MSU for the 8K distance
Freshman Dylan Ellis and senior Jarod Willis put their names into the top-5 all-time at Murray State for the 8K distance. Ellis was 60th and clocked a time of 25:20, while Willis placed 64th with a time of 25:25.
"The race went out fast for our men which was expected but the strategy was to be smart in that first 2k and not get caught up in the main pack," said Racers' Coach Jordan Johnston. "I think they executed that well with 7-of-9 of our runners moving up spots throughout the second half of the race. Dylan moved up the most with a 6 spot improvement from 4k to the finish and that ended up getting him to the 5th fastest time in school history which is incredible for a freshman. Jarod has patiently chipped away at his time over the last 5 years and to be honest early on in his career I didn't think that finishing in our top 10 list would be an option. But he has shown a lot of grit and set his expectations higher than we could have hoped for and I am so proud of him. He had the biggest PR of the day with a 34 second improvement and 6th fastest time in school history. I think it's important to highlight 5th senior Nathan Quinn's performance. He was the recipient of the Racer Heart award in 2023 after suffering a devastating injury but his relentless passion for running and this team is what allowed him to run within two seconds of his lifetime PR and finish 4th for us today. Despite some of the individual success that we had today, I am not happy with our team finish. I expect more from the men and they expect more from themselves as well. My hope is that this conference championships fuels them to a more competitive future."Â
For more information on the Murray State track and field team, visit GoRacers.com or follow @RacersXCTF on Instagram and X.Â
Missouri Valley Conference Championship
Nov. 1, 2024
Pheasant Ridge Golf Course
Cedar Falls, Iowa
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Team
Bradley 42 pts
Illinois State 51
Belmont 60
Drake 86
Indiana State 145
UIC 158
Northern Iowa 213
Valparaiso 229
Southern Illinois 277
Evansville 285
Murray State 312
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Individual
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 Dan Schalk 26:44.9
80 Kellen Hottell 26:45.1
81 Jackson Custer 27:11.5
83 Joey Santoro 27:21.0
86 Ben Crask 27:51.9
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Players Mentioned
