Cross Country Set For Season Opener

CHICAGO – The DePaul cross country squad is set to compete for the first time in 449 days when the Blue Demons take part in the Eastern Illinois Spring Cross Country Open on Saturday afternoon.

The men's 8k race kicks off at 1 p.m. CT with the women's 5k following shortly after at 1:45 p.m. Both races will be held on the Tom Woodall Panther Trail on the Panthers campus.

The Blue Demons will compete alongside squads from Eastern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and Saint Louis.

The men's team returns a strong nucleus from the 2019 season led by Charlie McIntyre. McIntyre was the first Blue Demon to cross the finish line on three occasions in 2019. Dominic Bruce, Shane Knanishu and Ryan Taylor kickoff their junior seasons on Saturday. The trio each posted their season best times at the Louisville Classic in 2019 with Bruce leading the way at 25:11.7 with Taylor at 25:20. 3 and Knanishu following behind at 25:26.6 (8K). Jackson Thomas, Damian Rodriguez and Joe Knanishu are set to make their DePaul debut on Saturday.

A veteran squad returns on the women's side with 10 letterwinners back from the 2019 campaign. Alexa Havon is back for her sophomore season after a standout freshman campaign in which the Andover, Minn. native posted a top-50 finish at the BIG EAST Championships and was the top DePaul finisher at the NCAA Midwest Regionals. Margaret Hastings and Violet Harper will look to add to their previous experience after posting personal bests in the 6K at the Bradley Pink Classic (10/18/19) with times of 23:02.7 and 22:46.3, respectively. Meghan Dieball will don a Blue Demon bib for the first time on Saturday.

For complete meet results at the conclusion of the races, check depaulbluedemons.com.

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Players Mentioned

Dominic Bruce

Meghan Dieball

Violet Harper

Margaret Hastings

Alexa Havon

Joe Knanishu

Shane Knanishu

Charlie McIntyre

Damian Rodriguez

Ryan Taylor

Jackson Thomas

DePaul University Athletics