Nov. 8, 2006
Champaign, Ill. -
The Illinois men's cross country team will travel to Falcon Heights, Minn., this Saturday, Nov. 11 to compete in the 2006 NCAA Midwest Region Championships.
The majority of the Big Ten, including No. 1 Wisconsin, will compete in the Great Lakes Region, while Illinois will go head-to-head with several of the best Big 12 Conference teams at the Midwest Championships. Other Big Ten competitors at the Midwest Region meet include Minnesota, who is the top-ranked team in the field at No. 15, and Iowa, who is ranked No. 28. Other nationally-ranked teams include Kansas (20), Oklahoma State (23) and Iowa State, who is receiving votes.
Despite an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago in Bloomington, Ind., the Orange and Blue runners look to regain strength after time off in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championships, Nov. 20 in Terre Haute, Ind.
The top two teams from each of the nine regions automatically qualify for the championships. Another 13 at-large teams will be added to the field and announced on Monday, Nov. 13. In addition, four individual competitors from each region, who are not part of qualifying teams, also will earn their way into the championships field. These individuals must finish in the top 25 at the regional championship to qualify. Additionally, two individuals will be chosen as at-large selections by the NCAA committee.
Illinois' 2005 performance at regionals earned them a seventh-place finish out of 30 teams, with Dan Stock qualifying individually for the national meet. This year, the Orange and Blue come out of the Big Ten Championships looking to run as a cohesive team.
"If we stay 100 percent healthy, we are ready to race," head coach Wendel McRaven said. "There is a little bit of pride on the line. I think the Big Ten meet left a bad taste in everyone's mouth and we're ready to get rid of it. If last year's finish at regionals is any indication, I feel good about how we'll run on Saturday."
The Illini will look to run smarter as a team, but are concentrating individually as well. Coach McRaven is looking toward four athletes that he believes can compete for a spot at nationals.
"Individually, I think we've got four guys who should go into the race knowing they have a shot at qualifying," McRaven said. "Jason Bill (senior) has qualified individually for nationals twice and Dan Stock (junior) was an individual qualifier last year. Trent Hoerr (junior) was five seconds away from qualifying for nationals in the 10,000 meters on the track last year, and Jeremy Stevens (freshman) has proven all year long that he is right there with our top guys. If those four put themselves in good position, then the team race will take care of itself."
The women will kick off the day with a 6K run at 11 a.m., followed by the men's 10K race at 12:15 p.m at the Les Bolstad University Golf Course, on the campus of The University of Minnesota. Midwest Region results can be found at gophersports.com, while a recap of Illinois' performance will be available at fightingillini.com following the meet.
