Wisconsin Invite Results | Bradley Classic Results

The University of Illinois men's cross country team split the squad up for two meets on Friday, Oct. 17. A group of seven Illini headed up to Madison, Wis. for the Wisconsin adidas Invite, while a five other runners traveled to Peoria, Ill. for the Bradley Classic.

WISCONSIN ADIDAS INVITE

MADISON, Wis. - A portion of the Illinois men's cross country team took on a very deep and talented field at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course for the Wisconsin adidas Invite on Friday morning. The Fighting Illini finished 28th in the 36-team invitational with 677 points.

"I think as a group we got a bit rattled today," explained head coach Jake Stewart. "Jannis went down early and that made things very difficult for us, especially since most of our guys had to either dodge or jump over him. This is obviously not the result we wanted, but that's the way just the way cross country goes sometimes. Today we had some bad luck, but we know we are a much better team than what we showed."

Ian Barnett was the top finisher for the Orange and Blue, finishing in 72nd with time of 24:28 over the eight-kilometer course. Jannis Toepfer was next into the chute for the Illini, claiming 104th with a 24:40 showing. Bryce Basting, the third Illinois runner to complete the course, finished 153rd in 25:01. Paul Zeman was not far behind him, clocking 25:08 for 165th. Brendan McDonnell (25:17) rounded out the Illini scorers, finishing in 183th.

"Ian was much better than he has been in previous meets," said Stewart. "It's good to see him take a step in right direction. Brendan also had a good day for us coming back after Louisville. We can build on some of the good things we did today, but we have to have a sense of urgency to get things done at this point in the season."

Syracuse, ranked sixth in the latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll, was the team champion with 85 points. The Orange easily outdistanced runner-up Iona, which accumulated 154 points. Host Wisconsin finished third with 176 points, while Portland (211) and Stanford (220) rounded out the top five.

Stanford's Maxim Korolev took the individual title with a time of 23:43. Korolev edged runner-up Futsum Zienasellassie of Northern Arizona (23:47) by four seconds.

"We are ready to run well," proclaimed Stewart. "We haven't shown it yet, but there is no doubt in my mind as to what we are capable of. I believe this team is better than we have shown and we are ready to prove it."

ILLINOIS RESULTS (out of 254)
72. Ian Barnett, 24:28
104. Jannis Toepfer, 24:40
153. Bryce Basting, 25:01
165. Paul Zeman, 25:08
183. Brendan McDonnell, 25:17

TEAM RESULTS (out of 36)
1. Syracuse, 85
2. Iona, 154
3. Wisconsin, 176
4. Portland, 211
5. Stanford, 220
28. ILLINOIS, 677
 

BRADLEY CLASSIC

PEORIA, Ill. - A small group Illini men's cross country harriers took to the course a the Bradley Classic on Friday evening. The Orange and Blue finished seventh in the 26-team field, tallying 249 points.

"For a lot of the group at Bradley, I saw a lot of improvement," noted Stewart. "It was a good racing environment despite the wind and soft course. They went out aggressively and that's what we wanted. We didn't want them to sit back and wait for the race to play out as they have in other races. We wanted to be the aggressor rather than responding."

Will Brewster was the top finisher for the Illini at Newman Golf Course, finishing 13th in 25:00.3. Garrett Lee was hot on Brewster's heels, crossing the finish line in 25:02.8 to take 15th. The third runner for the Orange and Blue was Alex Gold, who finished 28th in a time of 25:24.0. Ryan Burgoon (26:04.6) and Alex Notton (26:28.7) were the fourth and fifth runners for Illinois. They finished 81st and 112th, respectively.

Illinois State won the team race with a score of 119. Nebraska and Missouri tied for second with 146 points, but Nebraska was awarded runner-up status based on the tiebreaker.

Ryan Rutherford of Illinois State gave the Redbirds a sweep of the team and individual titles, claiming the top spot with a time of 24:21.6. He easily outdistance runner-up Zach Buchheit (24:42.5) of Northern Iowa.

"I think today helped solidify our lineup for the Big Ten Championships," said Stewart. "A few of these guys are going to contribute at that meet. They will be key cogs, not just be part of the team. We are really excited to show what we can do."

ILLINOIS RESULTS (out of 247)
13. Will Brewster, 25:00.3
15. Garrett Lee, 25:02.8
28. Alex Gold, 25:24.0
81. Ryan Burgoon, 26:04.6
112. Alex Notton, 26:28.7

TEAM RESULTS (out of 26)
1. Illinois State, 119
2. Nebraska, 146
3. Missouri, 146
4. South Dakota State, 164
5. Saint Louis, 170
6. South Dakota, 182
7. ILLINOIS, 249
 

The Orange and Blue will be back in action in exactly one week, as they will play host to the Illini Open on Friday, Oct. 24 at the UI Arboretum. The men's race, scheduled for 4:40 p.m., will take place immediately after the conclusion of the women's competition.

"Today was not a true reflection of where we are at right now," confirmed Stewart. "We are much better than we showed. At the Big Tens we are going to be able to run at a level that we weren't at today. The expectations have changed for this program. We need to build and be ready for Iowa City so that we can perform how I know we are capable of."