CHAMPAIGN, ILL – Illinois cross country hosts the Illini Open on Friday, October 20 at the UI Arboretum as they conclude the 2017 regular season. The women's 5K will lead off the meet at 4 p.m. central time, while the men's 8K will follow at 4:40 p.m.
Meet Information
Running for the Illini
Fan Parking Information
Fans attending the meet may park at either the lot along Lincoln Avenue or follow the signs to park in the Vet Med and Japan House lots. All meters will be free after 2pm.
Coach Stewart On the Meet
"For some of the guys it's the last chance to run a cross country race and I want them to enjoy that. It gives them a chance to have a very positive and appreciate last cross country race in an Illinois uniform. The rest of the group are concluding their cross country seasons, so we want them to put together a complete race as they can heading into a big training block before the indoor track season. For some of the women, it's also getting into a competitive environment for the first time this fall. They're more of a track-based group so we want them to go compete, enjoy it and get back to work as we prepare for indoor track.
A Look At The Competition
The Illini will welcome in seven teams from the around the area to the UI Arboretum on Friday. Headling the Illini opponents will be Big Ten foe Purdue who currently ranks third in the Great Lakes region on the men's side and ninth on the women's. Also ranked regionally on the men's side is Bradley (7th in the Midwest), Butler (7th in the Great Lakes) and Indiana State (14th). On the women's side, Bradley (9th) and Northern Illinois (10th in the Midwest) also enter the meet recognized regionally.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
On the men's side, Jon Davis ran his second straight sub-24:00 8K of the season. After running the fourth-fastest time in school history at Louisville, Davis timed 23:51.0 to place sixth in the loaded Ed Nuttycombe Invite field. On the women's side, freshman Rebecca Craddock finished her first collegiate 6K in 21:31.5 to place 15th in the women's open race.
Illini Men Ranked As High As 16th
After the Orange and Blue put together a stellar end to the month of September, the USTFCCCA ranked the Illini 16th. It was the highest ranking in program history, surpassing the No. 19 ranking the 2015 team achieved after placing runner-up at Big Ten Championships. The Illini are currently receiving votes in the poll and sit fourth in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional rankings.
Jon Davis Runs Fourth-Fastest 8K in Illinois History
The first Illini to run a sub-24:00 8K since 2015 Big Ten Championships, sophomore Jon Davis clocked 23:43.14 in Louisville on September 30. Davis' time ranks fourth in Illinois history, third best among 8K times, as Ty Wolf's 23:43.0 mark came on the way to a 10K at the 1984 District IV Meet. Former Illini Dylan Lafond holds the school record of 23:22.4 at 2015 Big Ten Championships.
Jesse Reiser Named Big Ten Athlete of the Week
Following the Battle in Beantown on September 22, the Big Ten conference named Jesse Reiser its Athlete of the Week. The honor comes on the heels of an individual title at the Battle in Beantown for the Illini junior. Reiser won the race with the second-fastest 8K of his career (24:12), edging sophomore teammate Jon Davis (24:13) who took second.
Craddock Leading Illini in First Season
Freshmen Rebecca Craddock has wasted no time in contributing, as the Brunswick, Ohio native has led the Illini in each of her first four collegiate races. In addition to leading the Illini, the newcomer has lowered her 5K personal-record in each race. After timing 17:58 at Eastern Illinois and 17:53 at Boston, Craddock shaved 17 more seconds off (17:36) at the Greater Louisville Classic.
Fighting Illini Begin First Season As Combined Program
Following the consolidation of the Illinois cross country and track programs, Jake Stewart has been charged with leading both the men's and women's distance programs. Now in his sixth season at Illinois, Stewart led the men's team for the previous five years and most recently led the squad to its first NCAA Cross Country Championship appearance in 30 years. Sarah Haveman joins the staff as an assistant coach after spending five years coaching at Dayton.
Illini Men Bring Championship Experience
Not only did the Illini advance to NCAA Cross Country Championships for the first time since 1986, placing 23rd, the group did so with a lineup mainly comprised of underclassmen. The Illini are just one of four teams to return five or more runners from last year's NCAA lineup, tying Iowa State and Virginia and just one behind Southern Utah's six returners. Each of the five Illini back in 2017 have two years of eligibility remaining, including Jon Davis and Zach Dale who are only entering their sophomore season.
Illini Women Feature 16 Underclassmen
With the change in leadership on the women's side, the team itself will also look new with 10 incoming freshman joining the team this fall to go along with six returning sophomores. Delaney Appino, Alana Austin, Madeline Bruce, Kelli Callahan, Nicki Cast, Rebecca Craddock, Caroline Fix, Mikaela Lucki, Allison McGrath and Katie Stapleton all begin their Illini careers this fall.
Up Next
Postseason competition begins in Bloomington, Indiana next Sunday, October 29, when the Illini compete at Big Ten Championships. The men's 8K race is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. central time, followed by the women's 6K at 10:45 a.m.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini cross country, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniMXC and @IlliniWXC) and Instagram (@IlliniMXC and @IlliniWXC) and like Fighting Illini Men's Cross Country and Fighting Illini Women's Cross Country on Facebook.
