Illini Open Meet Notes
Meet Program
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. -
Meet Preview
Now the third-ranked team in the Midwest Region, their highest mark in two years, the Fighting Illini will host the Illini Open as a final prep for Big Ten Championships November 1.
Coach Stewart on the Meet
"It's important in some different ways," said Coach Stewart. "We're going to be running some unattached guys; we're going to be running some guys that maybe just on the outside of running at the Big Ten meet, certainly have the ability to, but we want to see them improve and determine where they're at. For some guys, it will be the end of the cross-country season, and we want them to run well as we close down the fall and head into door season. It's always nice to have a good race to build off of, and I want to our guys to take advantage of the opportunity, and go out and just compete."
Illini Set to Run
The Orange and Blue will send out three runners on Friday night. Seniors Jereme Atchison and Liam Markham will be making their final run at home for the Orange and Blue, while junior transfer, Sean Pengelly, will run at the UI Arboretum for the first time. In addition to the three team competitors, Zach Dale, Caleb Hummer, Malik Lee, and Tony Zea will run unattached as they prepare for the upcoming track season.
A Look At The Competition
Six teams from the surrounding area will be competing against the Fighting Illini on Friday night, including Big Ten counterpart Purdue. Outside of the Big Ten, the Illini will be running against four in-state schools: Bradley, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, Loyola. Butler will round out the group of seven teams at the Open.
Last Time Out
The Illini split the squad between the Adidas and the Bradley "Pink" Classic. In Madison, Dylan Lafond led the Illini, climbing the school's all-time list with the sixth-best finish (23:53.8.). Ian Barnet and Zack Smith followed Lafond as the other Illini finishing in the top-100 of the 36-team field. the Orange and Blue won the team crown at the Bradley "Pink" Classic with three top-10 finishes, spearheaded by Dan Lathrop's fourth-place finish.
2015 Adidas Invite - Illinois Results
22. Dylan Lafond, 23:53.8
93. Ian Barnett, 24:25.4
99. Zack Smith 24:27.2
118. Jesse Reiser, 24:32.3
160. Liam Markham, 24:48.6
174. Sean Pengelly, 24:57.0
2015 Bradley "Pink" Classic
4. Dan Lathrop, 24:14.6
6. Paul Zeman, 24:16.4
8. Alex Gold, 24:17.4
16. Garrett Lee, 24:29.4
36. Jereme Atchison, 24:54.8
84. Jack Driggs, 25:25.5
Up Next
Postseason meets begin November 1 when the Illini head to Chicago for Big Ten Championships. NCAA Regionals will be held two weeks later on November 13 in Lawrence, Kansas.
