Strive for Nine a Success! No. 19 SSU men's XC claims ninth consecutive conference championship at 2024 RSC Championship Meet; five named All-RSC

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- When it's championship season, the Shawnee State men's cross country program simply finds a way to come up big -- time and time again.

Facing one of the most challenging conference fields in program history with two additional nationally ranked teams in Rio Grande and Indiana-East and sleeper units in Indiana-Kokomo and Midway ready to pounce with any slip, Conner Flynn's and Dean Freitag's squad proved to be tremendous in every facet Saturday as each of Shawnee State's top five runners ran between 25:05 to 25:52 in the River States Conference Championship Meet.

That consistency, which resulted in all five of those runners -- triplets Isaiah, Kaiden and Trevor Lanoy along with Shawn Little and Dylan French -- all obtain All-RSC honors of some type, also resulted in Shawnee State being the only team to place all of its runners under the 26-minute bracket, which, in turn, led to the Bears obtaining its ninth consecutive conference championship dating back to the 2016 season Saturday morning in the RSC Men's 8K Championship, which was held at Angel Mounds Cross Country Course in Evansville, Ind.

The men defeated nationally ranked No. 8 Rio Grande, as well as No. 20 Indiana-East, two very good teams," Flynn, the Director of Cross Country and Track and Field at Shawnee State, said. "Isaiah and Kaiden Lanoy, as well as Shawn Little, continued to do what they have done all year. Trevor Lnoy and Dylan French laid it down and stepped up for their team in a big moment. Cross Country is a beautiful sport. Nothing matters after the gun goes off -- it's all about that given day. Our men had a vision, a plan, and knew what they wanted from the day. I am so proud of these men, and I'm thankful for my staff here at SSU. We'll see you in Columbia, Mo. in two weeks. The Bears aren't done."

The Finish

Shawnee State, who was also the only team to place each of its top-five runners inside the top-15 from a conference standpoint, claimed the RSC title by just four points over No. 8 Rio Grande (43 points to Rio's 47) as the Bears utilized its consistency to emerge victorious.

The RedStorm placed two runners inside the top three of the event, with Rio Grande's Tyler Jenkins winning the event for the second straight year. However, Isaiah Lanoy, Kaiden Lanoy and Trevor Lanoy all finished fourth, seventh and eighth -- and Little added in a 10th place showing -- before Rio Grande's No. 3 runner, Wes Taylor, crossed the tape in 12th.

Two runners later, French, who finished 14th to claim the final Second-Team All-RSC spot, sealed the frantic finish to championship glory as the senior harrier from Coal Grove delivered diamonds for Shawnee State by edging Rio Grande's Daniel Persinger by 4.7 seconds and Kasy Science by 8.7 seconds to seal the championship for Shawnee State from a team perspective.

"We were prepared," Flynn said. "Our men came into the meet with a plan, we executed, and the result was as we expected it would be. I am proud of these athletes for their focus and diligence in their preparation."

The 2024 River States Conference Championship is the 14th conference championship for the Shawnee State men's cross country program in its history. The Bears won five straight championships upon its arrival inside the Mid-South Conference from 2010 to 2014, then ripped off seven consecutive titles in the Mid-South from 2016 to 2022 before making the move to the RSC, where SSU has won its last two conference meets.

Performances

Having performed in a standout manner all season long, Isaiah Lanoy was once again the flagbearer for the Bears in Shawnee State's ninth consecutive cross country championship. Lanoy posted a strong 25:05.6 to become one of just four runners in the 103-harrier field to click off a time under 25:10 in the event.

Behind Isaiah Lanoy, fellow brothers Kaiden Lanoy and Trevor Lanoy followed with First-Team All-RSC performances. Kaiden, who earned First-Team All-RSC honors for the second season in a row, ran a 25:19.3 to claim seventh, while Trevor ran in near lockstep with Kaiden, claiming eighth with a massive personal best of 25:19.6. In the latter pair's performances, Kaiden ran 14.6 seconds faster than his performance at the 2023 RSC Championship Meet, while Trevor ran 17.2 seconds faster than his time recorded at the same event in 2023.

2023 First-Team All-RSC runner and 2023 NAIA All-American Shawn Little continued his point-scoring ways for Shawnee State by nabbing a 10th place after shooting to a 25:28.6 to nab Second-Team All-RSC billing, leaving Shawnee State in an excellent position with 29 points already in and just one scoring runner left to cross the line.

Under 24 seconds after Little made it to the finish, French, who has been a consistent five-man throughout much of the season for SSU, came up with a clutch performance -- running a 25:52.3 to seal the 2024 River States Conference Championship for the Bears.

"I can't say enough about Dylan French," Flynn said. "He is the 'unsung hero' of Shawnee State Cross Country. He had a great day and showed everything he is capable of. Dylan's impact goes beyond the course or his performance. He is a team player and does whatever he needs to help his team. His leadership, day-in and day-out, is a significant reason for this teams success."

Remainder

Following the main five individuals, however, there were efforts to be proud of.

In his first conference championship event, Caden LaRue scored a finish that sat inside the top-quarter of the field, as the freshman ran a 26:52.9 to finish in 24th place. Senior Aidan Judd and junior Garrett Carver also claimed finishes in the top half as Judd ran a 28:21.1 to finish 41st while Carver nabbed a 28:35.1 to collect 47th overall. Jacob Naumovski also ran under 29 minutes, finishing 54th with a 28:56.4.

Malachi Shugert (62nd), Luke Butler (68th), Jared Flowers (76th) and Walker Pannell (80th) rounded out the Shawnee State finishing order.

Additional

With its championship-winning effort, the Shawnee State men's cross country program will head to the 69th Annual Men's Cross Country NAIA National Championships, which will be held at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo. There's obviously no other group that the former program alum would rather ride with.

"I would choose this group time and time again," Flynn said. "The way these men battle for each other is inspiring and I am thankful to have two more weeks with them. We have a complete team and as a Shawnee State alumni, it is special to see. The truth is, after losing one of the greatest athletes in Shawnee State history, many wrote us off and said we couldn't do it. We made it a goal to stay focused, do the work, and trust the process. Today, we showed what Shawnee State running is all about. We understand this isn't the end, and we will be more than prepared in Columbia, Missouri two weeks from now."