LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2024) The UIC men's and women's cross country teams are headed to Louisville, Ky. to compete in the 23rd Annual Live in Lou Cross Country Classic hosted by Louisville University. The meet begins Saturday with the men's 8,000m at 9:30 a.m. ET, followed by the women's 5,000m at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The upcoming race is set to feature over 90 teams from NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, and NJCAA, divided into three race divisions. The men's team will compete in the gold division, where they finished 15th out of 39 teams last year. Meanwhile, the women's team, which secured second place out of 43 teams in the blue division last year, will be racing in the same division again this year.

Last Time Out
Both the men's and women's cross country teams had a successful outing at the Redbird Invite in Normal, IL. With three runners finishing in the top 10, and eighteen runners, nine from each team, setting personal bests.
Junior Daniel Chavez (Berwyn, Ill./Morton) led the way for the men's team finishing third place in the 8,000-meter race with a time of 24:31.90. On the women's team sophomore Praise Oyebanji (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) was the only Flame to place in the top 10 for the 6,000m race, finishing 10^th with a time of 22:24.10.

Flames to Watch
Women:

• Sophomore Praise Oyebanji (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) is coming off the Redbird Invite that saw her finish a team high 10th in the 6,000m running a time of 22:24.10.
• Senior Daniela Martinez (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) who finished 15th at the Redbird Invite with a time of 22:38.10
• Sophomores Indigo Sterud (Rockton, Ill./ Hononegah) and Emma Dubie are both coming off of personal bests running times of 22:44.80 and 22:47.40 in the 6000m.

Men:

• Junior Daniel Chavez (Berwyn, Ill./Morton) took third place in the 8,000-meter race with a time of 24:31.90 at the Redbird Invite giving the Flames one of their two top 10 finishers on the men's side
• Senior Luke Malone (Plain City, Ohio/Jonathan Adler) was the other top 10 finisher for the men's team last time out with a time of 24:45.90.
• Sophomore Alexander Das (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) and freshmen Zac Close (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) finished 13th and 14th last time out, and are looking to build off a successful Redbird Invite.

 
 Race Information
The race is scheduled for this Saturday, October 5, at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, KY. The men's 8000m event will kick off at 9:30 a.m. ET, followed by the women's 5,000m at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The results can be found here.

Link to watch can be found here.
 
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For more information on UIC's cross country and track & field programs, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_XCTF or @UICFlames) and Instagram (@UIC_XCTF or @uicflames).