Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The women’s cross country team at the University of Illinois Springfield has something to celebrate.

“We had Maddie Miller-Ross, who made the national (Division II) cross country meet this year. It was up in Wisconsin; Kenosha, to be exact,” this past Saturday, said coach Emmons King (pictured). “She got 84-th overall . She is our first female individual (Great Lakes Valley Conference) champion. So she won the conference championship, she made the national meet for us and placed in the top third.”

King, a UIS alumnus, told the WTAX Morning Newswatch a Turkey Trot 5K is scheduled for 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. He describes it as a family event with more than 1100 registered. “We started this in 2019 and it has just kept growing and growing,” said King. “This is a fund-raiser that fully supports the UIS cross country and track teams.”

King was elevated to head coach from an interim role this past summer.