Men's Cross Country: Butler back with Panthers

Eastern senior Brad Butler warms up with his teammates on Tuesday afternoon at O'Brien Stadium. Butler red-shirted last year and is now back as the Panthers' top runner and leader. He ran a personal best 25 minutes, 34 seconds at the 2006 Ohio Valley Conference Championships. (Megan Cruz/The Daily Eastern News)

Brad Butler, a fifth-year senior for the men's cross country team, agreed last year to be red-shirted for his senior year.

It is rare for a senior to get red-shirted, but it is even more rare for a top performer such as Butler to use a red-shirt season.

The year before, Butler earned First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors with his fifth-place finish at the 2006 OVC Championships.

Eastern head cross country coach Geoff Masanet said he believed red-shirting Butler was a smart decision because it gave Butler and the team another year to improve.

"We were very young last year, and we thought that overall this year would be better," Masanet said. "Brad is our top guy, and in a way we were putting all our apples in one basket for this year."

Since Butler is the men's cross country team's top runner, Masanet figured there was no reason to waste Butler's last year of eligibility his senior year, when the team was only going to be better this season.

Butler agreed with Masanet that using a red-shirt year benefited him.

"It gave me another year of training under my belt," Butler said. "It also gave my teammates another year to improve and get better."

Without Butler last year, the team lost one of its main leaders, but the younger runners were forced to mature quicker and become leaders themselves.

"Butler not being with us last year gave us younger guys a chance to grow as leaders," sophomore Ryan Hoklas said.

Last year the Panthers cross country team finished fifth at the OVC Championships, and the team expects to do better this season with Butler back.

"We always have the goal to win the OVC," said Butler. "But our main goal is to just try our hardest to get better everyday."

According to teammates, Butler has been a great role model and leader for the younger runners to learn from this year.

"Butler is a perfect teammate," Hoklas said. "He's always positive, and he leads by example."

Besides the team's goal, Butler also has very high expectations for himself. Butler said his personal goal is to finish in the top three individually at the conference meet and do well enough in regionals to make it to nationals.

Masanet said he expects Butler to have an even better year than he had in 2006.

"He's a year older, and he should only be stronger, fitter and faster than he was before," Masanet said.

Ari Horing can be reached at 581-7944 or at akhoring@eiu.edu.