Eastern Illinois has added five accomplished distance runners to its men's cross country / track & field programs as part of the 2025 roster.
 
The group of runners is in addition to the previously announced incoming class for the men's track & field team.  Track Newcomer Release
 
Kasen Blain (Villa Park, Ill.) ran cross country and track at Willowbrook High School.  As a senior he placed 22nd at the LaGrange Lyons Class 3A Regional with a 5K time of 16:50.0.   His season best 3-mile time was 15:54.8 at the Solario Sun Warrior Invite.  In track he ran the 800 meter and 1,600 meter events posting a season best 4:27.0 time in the 1,600 meter run at the Roselle Lake Park Sectional.  During the indoor season he ran the opening leg on the 4x800 relay team that placed sixth at the Illinois Class 3A Top Times Indoor Championships.  As a junior Blain ran the opening leg of the 4x800 relay team that placed first at the WSC-Gold Boys Indoor Conference Championship.
 
Phillip Canopy (Morton, Ill.) ran cross country and track at Morton High School helping lead the program to a team second place finish as a senior at the IHSA Class 2A Cross Country State Championship.  Canopy placed 50th at the state championship with a 3-mile time of 15:21.2.  He went on to run at the NXR Midwest Regional Championships finishing 13th in the Open 3 race with a 5K time of 16:45.3.  Canopy made a trip to the state championship as a junior finishing 109th with a finals time of 15:55.2.  On the track Canopy ran as part of the 4x800 relay team at the IHSA Class 2A Track & Field Championships.  He ran the second leg as the team finished seventh in the state with a finals time of 8:01.09.  As a junior he advanced to the state championship meet as an individua running the 3,200 meter event.
 
Jiberil Lesman (Chicago, Ill.) ran cross country and track at Chicago Lake View High School.  Lesman made three straight appearances at the IHSA Class 2A Cross Country State Championship closing out his senior season with a 22nd place finish at the state meet with a 3-mile time of 14:52.9.  Lesman won the Grayslake Central Regional and placed fourth in the Kaneland Maple Park Sectional.  He posted a 5K time of 16:02.9 running in the NXR Midwest Regional Championship in the championship division race.  Lesman finished 42nd at the state championship as a junior and 85th as a sophomore.  On the track he ran at the 1,600 meter and 3,200 meter distances advancing to the IHSA Class 3A Track & Field State Championships in the 3,200 meter event as a junior.
 
Sebastian Meyer (El Paso, Ill.) is a transfer that ran last season at Missouri St. Louis after two seasons competing at Heartland CC.  Last year at UMSL, Meyer competed in two meets during the cross country season.   During his time at Heartland CC he ran cross country for two years reaching the NJCAA National Championships as a freshman where he finished 23rd with a finals time 26:35.9 on the 8K course.  In track he competed just one season for Heartland before transferring to UMSL and competing for two seasons for the Tritons.  During indoor track he competed in the mile, 3,000 meter and 5,000 meter events for indoor track while running the 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter outdoor races.  Meyer competed in high school at El Paso-Gridley HS reaching the IHSA Class 1A Cross Country State Championships as a freshman and junior.  In track he reached the IHSA Class 1A State Championships as a senior in both the 1,600 meter event and 4x800 relay, the relay team placing fourth in the state with Meyer running the second leg.
 
Brayden Shepard (Herscher, Ill.) ran cross country and track at Herscher High School.  In cross country he reached the IHSA Class 1A Cross Country State Championship all four years including a 95th place finish as a senior with a finals time of 16:04.5 on the 3-mile course.  His season best time of 15:55.4 at the 3-mile distance came with winning the Illinois Central Eight Conference meet.  In track he reached the IHSA Class 1A State Championships as a senior running the 1,600 meter event.  His season best time of 4:32.37 came with a second place finish at the Pontiac Sectional.  He made his first trip to the State Championship as a freshman running as part of the 4x800 relay.