CARMEL, Ind. – Senior Carlos Cabrera finished runner-up and a total of three Flames earned All-Conference honors at the Horizon League Cross Country Championship Thursday afternoon in UIC's lone cross country meet of the season.
 
In addition to Cabrera's First Team All-Conference performance, junior Teresa Mejia also earned First Team honors with a seventh-place finish in the women's race while freshman Drey Maton was named to the Second Team following an 11^th-place finish.


 
"I am unbelievably proud of the efforts put forth today," said head coach Ashley Lucas. "We asked a lot of our team with so many on their fourth race in a week. They didn't have any hesitations or complaints, they just want to keep getting better."
 
A native of Naperville, Illinois, Cabrera earned a spot on the podium with a time of 25:31.9, finishing just behind Youngstown State's Chase Easterling (25:22.0) in the battle for the top spot. As a team, the UIC men finished in fifth place with a team score of 107, the program's best score since recording 68 points in a runner-up finish in 2016.
 
"The guys ran lights out. Carlos being runner-up was huge while Drey and Dathan ran spectacularly well, with Drey getting his first cross country All-Conference honor with his 11^th-place finish. Luke and Maxum made their cross country collegiate debuts today and that's not easy to do at a conference championship," added Lucas.
 
On the women's side, the Flames were paced by junior Teresa Mejia, who finished in seventh place with a time of 22:54.0. As a team, the women finished in ninth place with a team score of 203.
 
"Teresa ran a stellar race. She went from 61^st her freshman year to 25^th her sophomore year to First Team All-Conference with her seventh-place finish," said Lucas. "I couldn't be prouder of her. Taylor keeps improving and then Jenna, Rosie and Rylee, like the men's freshmen, made their collegiate debuts today which isn't easy to do."
 
Freshmen Drey Maton and Dathan Maton each earned top-20 finished for the men's team, with Drey claiming 11^th place (26:14.8) to earn Second Team All-Conference honors while twin brother Dathan crossed the line in 26:33.7 to finish 18^th overall. Fellow freshmen Maxum Caesar posted a time of 27:26.0 to claim 33^rd place and Luke Malone rounded out the scoring with a 43^rd-place finish (27:47.0).
 
For the UIC women, Mejia was followed by sophomore Taylor Frommer, who posted a time of 24:05.5 to finish in 33^rd. A trio of freshmen making their UIC cross country debut rounded out the Flames' scoring, with Rosie Campbell-Watt (25:30.9), Jenna Boyle (25:43.8) and Rylee Fee (26:02.4) crossing the line in 52^nd, 55^th and 56^th place, respectively.
 
"The most exciting part for us is we were missing some key members today and we don't graduate anyone. The future is looking bright for the Flames!"