Sept. 12, 2013

Boilermaker Invite Preview | Coach Stewart Interview

Boilermaker Invitational
Friday, Sept. 13 (5:45 p.m. CT) - 8K race
Boilermaker Cross Country Course // West Lafayette, Ind.

Meet Preview
The Fighting Illini men's cross country team will be back in action this Friday, Sept. 13. The squad will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., the site of the 2013 Big Ten Championships, for the Boilermaker Invitational. The 8K race begins at 5:45 p.m. CT at the Boilermaker Cross Country Course.

Coach Stewart on the Meet
"I think for us to have a good weekend we have to come away from the meet really having a good feel for what the course is going to bring," said Stewart. "It's the same course we're going to see at the Big Ten meet in November, and that's really the reason we're going. We want to run well and we want to be competitive, but we're not throwing our full squad on the line. We're basing how we feel about our outcome at this meet on the way our guys compete and the sense of the how the cross country course is going to run in November."

Illini Set to Run
Seven runners will be competing in the Boilermaker Invitational, including USATF Junior All-American Will Brewster and redshirt-freshman Luke Carroll, who will be making their Illini cross country debuts after redshirting last season. Sophomore Jereme Atchison and redshirt-sophomore Paul Zeman will make their season debuts, while freshmen Ryan Burgoon and Jon Vaccaro will be running in their second meet of the season. Junior Brendan McDonnell will make his Varsity debut after placing third at the Illini Challenge.

A Look at the Competition
The Orange and Blue will compete against four other Big Ten schools, as Purdue, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio State will be joining the Illini on the Boilermaker Cross Country Course.

Last Time Out
Two weeks ago, the Illini opened the season with its ninth consecutive Illini Challenge title. The team scored 19 points and was led by Jannis Toepfer, who won the idividual title with a 6K time of 18:58. Liam Markham finished second overall with a time of 19:05, while Tommy King (19:31) and Ian Barnett (19:33) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ryan Burgoon made his collegiate debut, crossing the finish line seventh with a time of 19:49, while Jon Vaccaro (21:10) placed 22nd in his first race as an Illini.

Three freshmen ran unattached in the meet, with Garrett Lee finishing 10th overall with a time of 20:07. Alex Gold (20:21) placed 13th, and Alex Notton (21:50) finished 24th.

Up Next
The Orange and Blue will have three weeks off before they travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Notre Dame Invitational on October 4th.