CHICAGO – Sophomore Matthew Jordan (Suffield, OH/Field) (Mogadore, Ohio) became the first Chicago State cross country runner in recent memory to win an individual title as he won the eight-kilometer race at the second-annual NIU Huskie Open on Sept. 11 in DeKalb, Ill.
“This victory serves as a testimony to Matt's mental toughness as well as physical preparedness,” said CSU distance coach Steve Powenski. “Matt is a leader, a very coachable athlete who makes the best of every opportunity presented to him.”
Jordan crossed the finish line with a personal-best course record of 26:45.47 to finish almost seven seconds ahead of second-place finisher Alex Devillers of St. Norbert College. He also shaved just under a minute off his previous time from last season's meet in which he recorded a mark of 27:41.44.
Junior Michael Chew (Klang Selangor, Malaysia/Taylors University College) (Klang Selangor, Malaysia) recorded a 26th-place finish as he posted a PR course time of 30:18.31 in his first-ever collegiate 8K race. Freshman Jeremy Anderson (Springfield, IL/Lanphier) (Springfield, Ill.) placed 54th in the race after finishing with a time of 34:37.30, while junior Uri Kuyoro (Harvey, Ill.) finished 58th at a personal-best time of 35:53.21.
Also competing for CSU was senior Daniel Fleming (South Holland, IL/Thornwood HS) (South Holland, Ill.), who completed the course at a PR time of 39:43.51, good for 63rd place.
The Cougars head to Bloomington, Ill., this Friday afternoon to compete in the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships, hosted by Illinois State, with a start time of 4 p.m.
~CSU~
