Men's Cross Country: Season-in-Review

UNIVERSITY PARK, IL—Recruiting paid immediate results for the Governors State men's cross country team during its 2019 campaign. Head Coach Kevin Kredens and Assistant Coach Alex Moore brought in three freshmen who established themselves as the top three runners on the team.

The triumvirate consisted of state qualifier Nick Bushey, Rich South standout Manny Perezchica and Shepard High's Omari Coleman, a converted sprinter. For the first six weeks of the season, Bushey and Perezchica alternated spots as the team's top scorer. Bushey recorded five team-best finishes while Perezchica led the way three times. Coleman consistently finished as the No. 3 runner, posting the team's second-best time at the conference meet.

On the strength of its newest members, Governors State scored in all eight meets and finished 13th at the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Two weeks prior, GSU beat Roosevelt for the first time at the NAIA Seminole Valley Stampede.

Bushey was named the Jaguars MVP after producing the fastest freshmen times in school history. He became the first men's harrier to earn CCAC Runner of the Week honors and recorded the fourth-best 8K time in team history—30:26 at the Skyhawk Invitational. His 18:54.3 showing at the Fighting Saints Twilight represented GSU's best 5K time of the season.

"Nick will definitely be a leader for several years to come and help take the program to the next level. He has a drive to improve and get our program rocketing forward," stated Kredens.

Perezchica's eight starts were the most ever in a season as he became the first freshman bestowed captain duties; he also received the Most Improved Award.

Coleman, who never ran in an event longer than 200 meters in high school, earned the team's Leadership Award, appearing in all eight meets. Kredens believes Coleman's times will continue to drop as he learns the nuances of distance strategy and pacing.

The Jaguars were fortunate to have three returning runners on the roster who modeled leadership and work ethic. Senior Matthew McNeil became GSU's first four-year performer, appearing in a school-record 23 races. McNeil competed despite the fact his times were higher than normal as he worked back into shape from a preseason injury.

"Matt persevered and will go down as one of the smartest runners we have ever had. He's always going to be a part of GSU cross country history," said Kredens.

Daniel Perez extended his starting streak to 14 races and factored in team scoring in all eight races. He joined McNeil on the CCAC All-Academic Team. Cristian Espinoza finished his second season with six race appearances, setting a PR at the Skyhawk Invitational to help GSU establish a record-low score of 71 points. Danny Nguyen made his collegiate debut in Week Five and took part in three races.

"I'm excited about this team with Nick, Manny and Omari, they really improved during the season," said Kredens. "They were able to run in a pack for a few miles, something we had not done before. Our guys found a way to compete against other runners from our tough conference while showing a great work ethic in training and in the classroom."