Oct. 29, 2009
Big Ten Championships Notes and Stats 
Cross Country Championships Homepage
Steady Strides
The Illinois men's cross country team travels to University Park, Pa., this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Championships, hosted by Penn State on Nov. 1. The men's 5.2-mile race will take place on the Blue-White Golf Course at 9:45 a.m. CT, immediately followed by the women's 6K race at 10:45 a.m. CT. The Orange and Blue are optimistic that they will improve on last year's ninth-place finish.
"The goal from the beginning of the year has been to finish in the upper half of the Big Ten, and we won't be content with anything less than that. The key will be where our number one runner places and how close our fifth finisher is to him. Our best finish was sixth two years ago, but this year the momentum that we have had has kept us heading in the right direction. We have to step up and race on Sunday."
-cross country coach Wendel McRaven
Big Ten Championships Schedule
Sunday, Nov. 1
Men's 5.2-mile race - 9:45 a.m. CT
Women's 6K race - 10:45 a.m. CT
Tournament Field
The Orange and Blue will square off against every team from the Big Ten Conference, except Northwestern. The field of competitors will be deep, consisting of nationally ranked Wisconsin (No. 15) and Indiana (No. 18). Concentrating on the Midwest Region, Illinois will see Minnesota and Iowa, ranked No. 5 and No. 7 respectively, ahead of the No. 9 Orange and Blue.
Last Time Out
The Illini took the team title at this past weekend's Illini Open 8K race. Five Illini finished in the top six to keep the team point total low at 16. Two weekends ago, the squad raced at the Pre-Nationals meet against teams from across the nation. Sophomores Colin Mickow, Nathan Troester and Chris DeSilva finished top three for the Illini, leading the Orange and Blue to a 17th place finish out of the 35 teams competing in their Division.
Sophomore Squad
A roster of predominately sophomores will race for the Illini this weekend, all looking to score for the Orange and Blue and to improve on last year's performance. One junior, seven sophomores and one redshirt freshman make up the roster.
Tom Achtien // Freshman // Elmhurst, Ill.
Came in fourth place overall at the Illini Challenge with a 6K time of 19:07 ... Finished sixth for the Orange and Blue at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships ... Placed sixth for Illinois at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional meet ... Competed at Pre-Nationals, finishing sixth for the Orange and Blue ... Redshirted the 2008 season.
Nathan Bohne // Sophomore // Palos Heights, Ill.
Placed seventh at the Illini Challenge and fifth for the Orange and Blue with a 6K time of 19:19 ... Raced at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships where Illini placed second overall ... Raced at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional where the Illini placed sixth overall ... Competed in the Open Race at the Pre-Nationals meet, placing 28th ... Took the individual title at the Illini Open with an 8K time of 26:07.
Chris DeSilva // Sophomore // St. Charles, Ill.
Made his season debut at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional, placing fifth for the Orange and Blue ... Clocked a personal best 8K time of 24:53 at Pre-Nationals, finishing second for Illinois and 78th overall.
Kyle Engnell // Sophomore // Homer Glen, Ill.
Finished seventh for the Orange and Blue at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships, helping the Illini to a second place finish overall ... Placed eighth for Illinois at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional ... Competed at Pre-Nationals and finished seventh for the Illini ... Finished 12th overall at the Illini Open.
Dan Kremske // Sophomore // Woodstock, Ill.
Led the Orange and Blue to a first-place finish at the Illini Challenge, finishing second with a 6K time of 18:55 ... Placed eighth overall at the Illinois Intercollegiate and second for the Orange and Blue with an 8K time of 24:49 ...Finished fourth for the Illini at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional, running a personal-best 8K time of 25:07 ... Placed fourth for Illinois at the Pre-Nationals meet.
Colin Mickow // Sophomore // Princeton, Ill.
Captured the individual title at the Illini Challenge with a 6K time of 18:52, leading the Orange and Blue to a first-place team finish ... Placed first for the Illini at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships with an 8K time of 24:48 ... Led the Illini to a sixth-place finish at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional with a personal-best 8K time of 24:39 ... Finished first for Illinois and 71st overall at the Pre-Nationals meet.
Jared Richardson // Junior // Machesny Park, Ill.
Finished second for the Illini and 27th overall at the Bradley Classic ... Tallied a runner-up finish at the Illini Open, helping the Orange and Blue to a team title.
Jim Riddle // Sophomore // Naperville, Ill.
Made season debut at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional, placing second for the Illini and 38th overall ... Finished fifth for the Orange and Blue at Pre-Nationals, scoring for Illinois with an 8K time of 25:33.
Nathan Troester // Sophomore // Mokena, Ill.
Helped lead the Illini to a second-place finish at the Illinois Intercollegiate, placing third for the Orange and Blue and 15th overall ... Ran a personal-best 8K time of 24:57 at the Wisconsin Inter-Regional, placing third for the Illini ... Finished third for Illinois at the Pre-Nationals meet.
