Oct. 1, 2011

2011 Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational Results

CHICAGO, Ill. - The Illinois women's cross country team finished in fourth place at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational, totaling 116 points. The 5K race in Chicago, Ill., featured 538 runners in the 45 total squads competing. Finishing first for the Illini and 18th overall was Meghan Frigo, who in her third race this season ran a personal-best 5K time of 17:59, improving her previous time of 12 seconds.

"We had a good first half of the race, however we didn't seem to put it all together," head women's cross country coach Jeremy Rasmussen said. "It was the most competition we've seen all year, so that was a pretty big challenge. The important thing was to get off to a good start and not get lost in the crowd and I think we handled it well."

The race also marked the season debut of junior Courtney Yaeger. Yaeger ran the course in a time of 18:06 and also placed second for the Illini. Following Yaeger was junior Madeline Aufmann (23), freshman Britten Petrey (30) and sophomore Katie Porada (34). Both Aufmann and Porada set personal-best 5K times at the meet.

"Frigo did a good job," Rasmussen said. "She has been very reliable and has been someone we can always count on. She really did a great job for us today."

Senior Stacy Hague finished in the top 50 overall, placing 44th, and sixth for the Illini with a time of 18:37, followed by freshmen Chloe Schmidt and Meagan Hynes, both finishing with a time of 18:50 while Hynes set a new personal-best in the process. Freshman Collette Falsey raced her first 5K has an Illini, crossing the line in a time of 18:59 while Megumi Hoshi (19:22), Meghan Murphy (19:56) and Michelle Stratton (20:16) finished 108th, 169th and 207th, respectively. Hoshi improved her previous personal-best 5K time by 16 seconds.

"We really need to work on finishing the race strong," Rasmussen said. "That's something we're going to be focusing on in the next month as we look ahead to the Big Ten Championships."

No. 27 Iowa placed first at the meet with 27 points, with six Hawkeyes finishing in the top 10. Claiming the individual crown was Tamara Jewett of the University of Toronto in a time of 17:08.

The Illini will compete next on Oct. 14, traveling to Madison, Wis., for the Wisconsin adidas Invitational or Peoria, Ill., for the Bradley Classic.

ILLINOIS RESULTS
18. Meghan Frigo, 17:59
21. Courtney Yaeger, 18:06
23. Madeline Aufmann, 18:12
30. Britten Petrey, 18:28
34. Katie Porada, 18:30
44. Stacy Hague, 18:37
58. Chloe Schmidt, 18:50
59. Meagan Hynes, 18:50
108. Megumi Hoshi, 19:22
169. Meghan Murphy, 19:56
207. Michelle Stratton, 20:16

TEAM RESULTS
1. Iowa
2. McMaster
3. Western Ontario
4. ILLINOIS
5. Loyola (Ill.)
6. Edinboro
7. Wisconsin
8. St. Olaf
9. Toronto
10. Windsor