Nov. 10, 2001

Complete Results

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The University of Illinois men's and women's cross country teams wrapped up their 2001 campaign with seventh and 11th-place finishes respectively at the NCAA Midwest Regional ran this afternoon in Carbondale, Ill.

The event, a 10,000-meter race for the men and 6,000-meter race for the women, was hosted by Southern Illinois and had 24 teams competing on the men's side and 23 teams competing on the women's.

Like he has done all season, junior John Kronforst led Illinois with his third top-10 finish of 2001. Kronforst finished eighth overall in a time of 31:02.6 to cap an outstanding season. Kronforst opened the year with a second-place finish at the Purdue Meet of Champions on Sept. 8, and earned First Team All-Big Ten honors with a seventh-place finish at the Big Ten Championships on Oct. 28.

Finishing behind Kronforst was junior Aaron Wahls and senior Justin Mitchell. Wahls, a native of Pontiac, Ill., finished 34th with a time of 31:45.7 to set a personal-best mark in the 10,000 meters. Mitchell finished third for the Illini with a time of 31:53.9, good enough for 42nd individually.

Illinois scored 185 points as a team, falling short of conference rival Minnesota who won the meet with 78 points. Kansas State senior Shadrack Kimeli won individual medalist honors with a time of 30:37.3 to outlast the Golden Gophers' Terrance McComb who finished just three seconds back.

On the women's side, the Fighting Illini ran to 11th-place despite competing with just five runners. The shorthanded Illini battled through a week of adversity that saw them lose Celi Dietzen to a leg injury and three more runners on Tuesday night. The three runners were lost for the meet after they were hit by a car that rolled through a stop sign at the intersection of First and Gregory. The runners were walking through the intersection when the accident occurred, but each was able to escape serious injury.

Amber Hunt was Illinois' top finisher in the race. The junior finished 43rd overall with a season-best 6,000-meter time of 22:23.5. Hunt finished ahead of freshman Casie Simpson who had her best individual race of the season. Simpson placed 49th overall in a time of 22:30.5.

Oklahoma State won the meet with 56 points and were led by individual champion Siri Alfheim. Alfheim finished with a time of 20:31 to outlast K-State's Amy Mortimer.

Illinois Men's Results: Team : 7th of 24 Teams, 185 Points 8. John Kronforst 31:02.6, 34. Aaron Wahls 31:45.7, 42. Justin Mitchell 31:53.9, 47. Andy Janssen 32:05.8, 54. Adam Palumbo 32:14.2, 81. Tim Moran 32:50.1, 94. Brent Pfeiffer 33:06.2.

Illinois Women's Results: Team : 11th of 23 Teams, 264 Points 43 Amber Hunt 22:23.5, 49. Casie Simpson 22:30.5, 51. Marcy Bice 22:36.0, 54. Erin Frakes 22:43.0, 67. Leigh Anne Kenyon 22:59.6.