The Illinois Valley Community College Cross Country program got off to a strong start at the Skyhawk Early Season Opener on Aug. 31 on the campus of Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon.

Freshman Dagen Setchell of Mendota led the Eagles’ men’s team with a sixth-place finish (19:00) in the 3-mile race.

“Dagen is coming into the season with great energy and motivation,” Matt Baker, IVCC head coach, said. “With a first race like this, we’re really excited about where he may finish when we reach the Conference and Region IV meets at the end of the season.”

Returning sophomore runner Christian Yepsen of Princeton was next in line for the Eagles with a 20:40.83 finish for 11th overall. He was followed by freshman Kevin Rynke (21:50.01) and sophomore Azael Vargas (22:21.2).

In the women’s 2-mile race, freshman Tatiana Serna, who came to IVCC from Fieldcrest High School, took fourth place with a time of 15:04.43.

“Tati and I have been talking about the possibility of her finishing Top 10 in the Region IV meet since last spring. If she can keep building on this early success, I think she’ll be very happy with how she finishes the season,” Baker said.

Fellow freshman Kailey Goetsch of Ottawa, who is transforming into a distance runner after competing through high school on the L-P-Ottawa Coop swim team, came out strong on Saturday as the number two runner for the Eagles in an 8th-place overall finish (18:09.46). The rest of the Eagles followed closely behind: Claire Durdan (18:20.36), Meghann Ostler (18:23.96), Yovanna Reyes (18:33.87), and Kristy Hoang (19:01.35).

“We still have a lot of work to do this season, but it’s really exciting to see how competitive our men’s and women’s teams have gotten in just the second year of the program,” Baker said. “We’re really building something special thanks to the hard work of these student-athletes.”