Illini Open Notes
Meet Program
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. -
Meet Preview
The Illini return home for the first time since their opener on September 4 for the final meet of the regular season. Big Ten Championships will be held in Chicago on Sunday, November 1.
Coach Jones on the Meet
"It's important for some people to compete at home, and for some people to work out the kinks, gain confidence. We have nine days from the Illini Open until the Big Ten meet, and that's plenty of time for us to recover form a 5K race. So, there's a variety of factors that goes into who races and who doesn't. Some of it's physical, and some of it is psychological.
"Everything that will define us is, truly, for the season is in front of us. I expect us to examine last week, and make ourselves better.
Illini Set to Run
Head Coach Scott Jones will have 14 runners donning the orange and blue on Friday afternoon, including seniors Britten Petrey, Amanda Fox, Lindsey Rakosnik, and Colette Falsey. Joining the seniors running at the UI Arboretum for the final time will be runners from Pre-Nationals: Hanna Winter, Audrey Blazek, Valerie Bobart, Denise Branch, Megan Lemersal, and Kim Seger. Big Ten 600m Indoor Track champion, Nicole Choquette will run on Friday night for the Illini along with underclassmen Kristina Kladar, Moira McAsey, and Elena Palacios.
A Look at the Competition
The Illini Open will feature in-state schools Bradley, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, Loyola, and Big Ten foe Northwestern. Extending outside the state of Illinois, Purdue and Butler will travel to Urbana for Friday's competition.
Last Time out
Prior to the Illini Open, the team competed at Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. Hanna Winter and Audrey Blazek led the Illini as the team placed 43rd overall.
2015 Pre-Nationals Invite - Illinois Results
161. Hanna Winter, 21:30.9
212. Audrey Blazek, 21:46.7
213. Valerie Bobart, 21:47.2
225. Britten Petrey, 21:54.5
237. Denise Branch, 22:00.6
304. Megan Lemersal, 23:03.2
305. Kim Seger, 23:11.4
Up Next
The Orange and Blue move on to postseason competition as they head to Chicago for Big Ten Championships. After Big Tens, the team will travel to NCAA Regionals in Lawrence, Kansas on Nov. 13.
