SSU men's cross country defeats seven NCAA Division I programs; gets personal bests from six runners at Live in Lou

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- To say that the Shawnee State men's cross country program had a productive day at the Live in Louisville Cross Country Classic would be understating the point.

Isaiah Lanoy broke the 25 minute mark in the 8,000 meter run Men's Gold race to notch his first career time under that mark, while five additional men's cross country harriers also set personal bests as the Bears beat out seven NCAA Division I programs (Chattanooga, Mercer, Marshall, Louisville, Tennessee Tech, Northern Colorado, and East Tennessee State) at the prestigious event, which was held at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. Saturday morning.

The event, which saw Shawnee State finish 18th in a 28-team field that included 17 NCAA Division I programs, was the premier race at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic. In this race, Shawnee State's average time of 25:24.6 was the fastest time that the Bears have ever run in the event, collectively, by a nine-second margin -- and is the third-fastest collective time that Shawnee State has run, as a group, in the history of the program.

"Our men showed up ready to run today," Director of Shawnee State Cross Country and Track and Field Conner Flynn said. "We know that we can continue to progress, but we showed more of our depth than we have all year, especially our young athletes."

Isaiah Lanoy, who placed 59th in the 271-runner field, was one of 69 runners to break the 25-minute barrier en route to his terrific performance. The freshman, who ran a 24:53.8 en route to notching his new personal best, beat his previous PR by nearly 24 full seconds.

With that, Lanoy is now among the 10 fastest runners in the history of the Shawnee State men's cross country program -- already -- with his performance. The scary part? Isaiah Lanoy still has three-and-a-half seasons of cross country eligibility remaining.

"Isaiah continues to show us what he's capable of," Flynn said. "I am proud of Isaiah and the work that he continues to put in."

Shawn Little, who continues building on an impressive career at Shawnee State, added in a second top-100 finish for the Bears en route to finishing inside the top-third of the field himself. The 2023 NAIA All-American ran a 25:12.4 to finish 87th overall, providing another highly-respectable showing in the process.

Along with Isaiah Lanoy, fellow brothers Kaiden Lanoy and Trevor Lanoy each set personal bests of their own -- as Kaiden Lanoy ran a 25:30.8 to finish 115th while Trevor Lanoy posted a 25:35.5 to collect a 123rd place showing. Kaiden Lanoy posted a personal best that was three seconds faster than his previous PR, while Trevor Lanoy nabbed a new PR that proved to be 13-and-a-half seconds faster than his previous best.

Dylan French, who claimed 149th overall in the field, made it another personal best for Shawnee State as the senior, for the first time in his SSU career, ran under 26 minutes in the 8K by nabbing a 25:50.5. That mark was 31 seconds better than French's previous PR -- which was previously a 26:21.6.

"Dylan French had a great day and showed what we have all known that he is capable of, while Shawn Little is also entering his old form as the season moves along," Flynn said."

Rounding out the strong day for Shawnee State was Connor Darnell, Jerry O'Dell, and Caden LaRue -- who all posted strong performances of their own. Darnell, who finished 203rd, set his own personal best with a 26:29.6, running nearly 20 full seconds faster than his previous standard of 26:49, while O'Dell, who nabbed a 26:49.4 to finish 225th, finished within one second of his personal best of 26:48.6. LaRue, who finished just behind O'Dell with a 26:49.9, stepped up in a major way himself - as LaRue posted a mark that was nearly 27 seconds faster than his previous PB.

"We are young, but also like to set high standards in the present moment," Flynn said. "Sometimes, I forget that six of our top eight are underclassmen. The future is bright for the Shawnee State cross country program."

The men's cross country program at Shawnee State will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 26 at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge in what will be the program's final regular season meet prior to the River States Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 9.