Nov. 13, 2011

Champaign, Ill. - For the second time in Illinois history, the Fighting Illini will send two individual runners to the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships next Monday, Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. The last time was 1996 when Barry Pearman and Jason Zieren qualified for the national meet. 

Senior Jim Riddle automatically qualified for the national meet yesterday by leading Illinois at the NCAA Midwest Regional and finished 12th overall, completing the 10K race in 31:34.79. Riddle will be joined at the national meet by teammate Jordan Hebert. The junior finished second for the Illini at the regional meet and 17th overall, with a time of 31:40.64. This will be both runners' first appearance at the championships. Both Riddle and Hebert earned All-Region honors for their finish. This achievement marks the second time in program history the Illini have sent two individual runners to the national championships. Illinois last qualified an individual in 2007 when Trent Hoerrwon the regional title.

Cosmas Ayabei of UMKC and Jeff Thode of Iowa are the other runners, which qualified from the Midwest Regional.

Indiana State University will host the Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute. The men's race will begin at approximately 12:08 p.m. ET. A live webcast of the championships will be broadcast from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET, Monday, Nov. 21 on NCAA.com In addition, highlights from the championships will be included as part of the CBS NCAA Fall Seasonal Show scheduled to air on Sat., Dec. 18 from 1-2 p.m. ET on CBS HD.