In the 1500 meters, River Derby led the Prairie Stars in the open sections, placing fourth in 4:03. Matt Padilla was right behind in 4:04 for seventh, while Chase Cooley ran 4:05 for 19th in the invitational section.
UIS closed Thursday with strong performances in the 5,000 meters, where Dom Cantarini placed 10th in 15:12. Isaac Cortes followed closely in 11th at 15:13, and freshman Charlie Borlin finished 18th in 15:23.
On Friday in the 800 meters, Cooley and Derby both ran 1:59, finishing 34th and 39th respectively. Derby placed third in his heat, while Cooley ran in a tightly packed second heat and edged out a conference opponent from SBU.
UIS now sits three meets into the outdoor regular season with three remaining. The Prairie Stars will send a small group to next week’s Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, while most of the team competes at Indiana State’s Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute.
