Oct. 19, 2013

Wisconsin Results | Bradley Classic Results

MADISON, Wis. -- The Illinois men's cross country team finished in 19th place at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Saturday. The 8K race was held in Madison, Wis. and featured 20 nationally ranked teams among the 35-team field. The Illini placed higher than No. 21 UCLA, No. 22 Minnesota, No. 24 Georgetown, No. 26 Florida, No. 27 Dartmouth, and No. 30 Arizona State.

"I think there's a greater sense of relief out of the group more than anything else," said head coach Jake Stewart. "We didn't have the performance at Notre Dame that we were hoping to have and we knew with the Big Ten Championships coming in two weeks time that we needed to have a solid meet today, and we did that. We had a race plan in place and it was followed very well. The guys walked away feeling good about their performance and know there's more in the tank."

Jannis Toepfer led the Illini individually, finishing 28th overall with an 8K time of 23:50. The time is a personal best for the Bochum, Germany native, and is tied for the fourth-fastest time in school history. Liam Markham finished next for the Orange and Blue, clocking a personal-best time of 24:08 to place 62nd. Ian Barnett (24:14) and Brendan McDonnell (24:37) also set new personal-bests and scored for the Illini, while Tommy King crossed the finish line with a time of 24:42. Will Brewster and Paul Zeman ran personal-best times of 24:48 and 25:06, respectively, while Graham Morris (25:43) rounded out the competition for the Illini.

"I think it says a lot when six guys run a personal best," said Coach Stewart. "Jannis didn't have his best day and he still ran much better than he has previously at that distance. Liam and Ian both had very good days, their plan was to run off one another for the majority of the race and they did that. Will had a real solid day and Brendan continues to be very good in his first season at the varsity level. It was a much better day for everyone."

No. 3 Northern Arizona finished in first place, while Arkansas' Kemoy Campbell won the individual title with a time of 23:12.

The Illini also had runners compete at the Bradley Classic on Friday afternoon, with unattached runner Jordan Hebert winning the individual title. The Illini were led by Luke Carroll as he finished in 11th place after clocking a personal-best 8K time 24:48. Sam Telfer finished next for the Illini, placing 25th overall with a time of 25:05, with Jereme Atchison (25:12) crossing the finish line shortly after to finish 29th. Ryan Burgoon and Jon Vaccaro set personal-best 8K times of 25:44 and 26:19, respectively, while Anthony Manfrin (27:05) and Joe McAsey (28:03) made their season debuts. Five Illini freshmen also ran unattached in the race, with Garrett Lee (25:00), Alex Gold (25:16), and Joe Cowlin (25:27) all setting new personal-bests.

The Orange and Blue close out the regular season at home next Friday, Oct. 25, when they host the Illinois Open at the UI Arboretum (4:40 p.m. CT). They then travel to West Lafayette, Ind. for the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, Nov. 3.

ILLINOIS RESULTS at Wisconsin adidas Invite
28. Jannis Toepfer, 23:50
62. Liam Markham, 24:08
81. Ian Barnett, 24:14
152. Brendan McDonnell, 24:37
170. Tommy King, 24:42
179. Will Brewster, 24:48
219. Paul Zeman, 25:06
259. Graham Morris, 25:43

TEAM RESULTS
1. Northern Arizona 121
2. BYU 174
3. Portland 216
4. Wisconsin 217
5. New Mexico 252
19. ILLINOIS 481

ILLINOIS RESULTS at Bradley Classic
1. Jordan Hebert (unattached), 24:07
11. Luke Carroll, 24:48
20. Garrett Lee (unattached), 25:00
25. Sam Telfer, 25:05
29. Jereme Atchison, 25:12
37. Alex Gold (unattached), 25:16
48. Joe Cowlin (unattached), 25:27
75. Ryan Burgoon, 25:44
102. Alex Notton (unattached), 26:00
119. Trevor Kuehr (unattached), 26:14
130. Jon Vaccaro, 26:19
174. Anthony Manfrin, 27:05
200. Joe McAsey, 28:03