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Just as they have done all season Adam Swanson and Mackenzie Aldridge finished as the top performers for the Eastern Illinois men's and women's cross country teams as they wrapped up the season on Friday at the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted by Oklahoma State.
 
Swanson placed 29th leading the EIU men to a 20th place finish running at the 10K distance.
 
Aldridge placed 70th leading the EIU women to a 23rd place finish running at the 6K distance.
 
Men's Recap
Swanson ran a good portion of the race in the upper pack ranking in the top ten through the 5K distance. He would finish the 10K course in 29th with a time of 31:26.0 as he just missed All-Region honors.
 
Michael Atkins and Richie Jacobo joined Swanson in the Top 100 as all five scored EIU runners placed in the top 150.   Atkins was 45th with a time of 31:44.2.  Jacobo was 86th with a time of 32:25.1.
 
Sam Nowak and Joe Stoddard were the fourth and fifth scored runners for the Panthers.  Nowak was 142nd with a time of 33:16.2.  Stoddard was 149th with a time of 33:25.9.
 
Sam Cruz and Isai Morales closed out the EIU runners at the meet.  Cruz had a time of 33:37.4 to place 157th with Morales crossing at 34:01.6 to finish 172nd.
 
 
Women's Recap
Aldridge covered the course in a time of 22:02.4 as she was joined in the top 100 in the event by Sarah Carr.   Aldridge was 70th with Carr crossing in 85th with a time of 22:16.1.
 
The next three EIU runners were separated by 25 spots as all five EIU runners finished in the top 150.   Brenda Torres was 120th with a time of 22:41.7.  Kylie Haacke was 135th with a time of 22:53.3.  Kylie Decker was 144th with a time of 23:06.7.
 
The final two Panthers runners were Alex Gomez and Rylea Borgic.   Gomez posted a time of 23:28.0 to finish 165th with Borgic in at 24:26.2 to finish 209th.
 
EIU concluded the 2023 season as repeat champions of the Ohio Valley Conference.  The men won their fourth straight title and 11th overall with Swanson named the Male Runner of the Year.   Atkins and Jacobo joined Swanson as first team All-OVC performers this year.  The women won their second straight OVC title and fourth overall. Aldridge and Carr both earned first team All-OVC honors with Torres and Haacke earning second team honors.