Kyle O'Brien wins 15K Panther Prowl event
Tuesday, July 17 2007 -
CHARLESTON — Kyle O’Brien, the 2003 Ohio Valley Conference Male Athlete of the Year, won the 15 K (.9.3 miles) race Saturday with a time of 49 minutes, 25 seconds. O’Brien beat Brad Butler of Monticello and a member of the EIU track team by 1:59. Butler won last year’s Panther Prowl, while it is the fourth title for O’Brien, who won back-to-back OVC championships in 2002 and 2003 in the 3,000 meter and 5,000 meter races after transferring from Danville Area Community College in 2000. O’Brien is a four-tem All-American in cross country and track and won nine OVC championship races out of 10 at EIU.
O’Brien won the 2004 title in 49:07 and is a member of the Hanson-Brooks Distance Project team.
Erin O’Grady won the female division with a time of 1:05.31. The Eastern sophomore to be beat teammate Jillian Blondell by 1:41. O’Grady was fifth last year with a time of 1:18.17.
A total of 46 runners competed in the 15K. In the 5K, which was run on the EIU cross country course for the first time, Curtis Weisenberge won with a time of 16:18, winning by 54 seconds over Stewardson-Strasburg’s Jeremy Reel.
Julia Rudd, a nationally ranked steeple chase now running for the Indianapolis Invaders racing team won the female division with a time of 18:03, which was fifth overall. She was a little over two minutes faster than the second place runner Margo Richardson. Rudd, who served as an EIU camp counselor, is an eleven-time Division III All-American in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Charleston’s Claire Dau was fifth with a time of 21:14.
A total of 75 participated in the 5K.
Men’s 15K
Overall placers
1. Kyle O’Brien 49:25; 2. Brad Butler 51:24; 3. Brad LaRocque 52:31; 4. Aaron Iaun 52:57; 5. Harrison Bueno 53:19
Women’s 15K
Overall placers
1. Erin O’Grady 1:05.31; 2. Jillian Blondell 1:07.12; 3. Nicole Flounders 1:07.12; 4. Katie O’Brien 1:10.55; 5. Reagan Alymer 1:19.05
Men’s 5K
Overall placers
1. Curtis Weisenberge 16:18; 2. Jeremy Reel 17:12; 3. Jeff Sabatka 17:14; 4. Tom Pacey 17:28; 5. Clayton Baker 18:26
Women’s 5K
Overall placers
1. Julia Rudd 18:03; 2. Margo Richardson 20:06; 3. Cindy McGrady 20:20; 4. Alicia Pizzio 21:04; 5. Claire Dau 21:14