PEORIA, Ill. - Marcos Bailon and Jackson Toroitich led the Wichita State men's cross country team to a second-place team finish in the men's 8,000-meters at the Bradley Classic Friday.
The Shockers finished with a score of 111, to finish second out of 19 men's teams at Newman Golf Course. Missouri Valley Conference opponent Drake won the men's team title with 76 points.
Bailon finished sixth overall in 25:03.6 and Toroitich finished eighth in 25:10.7 out of 188 runners as the Shockers closed out the regular season. Butler's Ross Clarke won the men's race in 24:20.9.
"It was a really good day, but definitely wasn't our best day," Wichita State cross country head coach Kirk Hunter said. "We're happy finishing second out of 19 teams, but we've got more we've got to do."
The meet served as a preview of sorts for the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Championships Oct. 30. A total of six MVC teams competed Friday. Illinois State finished seventh, Bradley 10th, Northern Iowa 11th and Creighton came in 14th overall.
The Shockers entered the meet ranked 15th in the Midwest Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Drake entered the meet ranked 12th in the Midwest, while Butler was ranked eighth in the Great Lakes Region, South Dakota State held 11th in the Midwest and Loyola-Chicago was 14th in the Midwest.
Jake Wike finished 25th (25:34.0), Sterling Spencer 30th (25:42.6) and Tomas Cotter 43rd (26:02.4) to round out Wichita State's top five runners Friday.
The Shocker women travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to compete at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Chile Pepper Festival.
The Shocker men next compete Oct. 30 in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships in Terre Haute, Ind.
- Wichita State -
