Meet  Notes

Performance List

MEET PREVIEW
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, the Orange and Blue head to Chicago for Big Ten Championships on Sunday, November 1. The Illini will be looking to improve upon their sixth-place finish at last season's Big Ten meet.  The tape-delay of the meet will be aired November 12 at 7pm on Big Ten Network. University of Illinois' Director of Cross-County/Track & Field Operations Eric Vetter will be a part of the broadcast team. 

MEET INFORMATION:
Big Ten Championships will be held at the Sydney Marovitz Golf Course, located at 3600 N. Recreation Drive in Chicago, Illinois. The men's race will commence at 10:45 a.m. CT, while the women will run at 11:45 am CT. After the conclusion of the women's race, the awards presentation will take place at approximately 1pm. CT and wll be open to the public. 

COACH STEWART ON THE MEET
"I don't think it's any major change in approach this weekend. It's something we talk a lot about in our program, taking the same approach to every meet that we run in. To suddenly change up the emphasis, or change up the mindset, bodes well to the consistency that we like to have. We've prepared well, and I want our guys to understand that we've all, the guys that are going to toe the line on Sunday, have all ran really well this fall. And, it's just a matter of going out and doing the things that we're capable of doing that will allow us to have a good day. We just need to run within ourselves and trust that we're prepared and execute the race plan."  

ILLINI SET TO RUN
Coach Stewart will take his top nine guys to Chicago, led by junior Dylan Lafond and senior Ian Barnett. Lafond is coming off back-to-back performances that cracked the Illinois 8K All-Time List, currently sitting sixth on the list. Barnett has placed first or second on the team in all three of the meets he has ran in this season with his best performance coming at the Greater Louisville Classic, placing 27th overall. Joining those two will be seniors Paul Zeman, Liam Markham, Jesse Reiser, Billy Magnesen, Zack Smith, Alex Gold and Dan Lathrop. 

A LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
Coach Stewart's nine will be up against the best the Big Ten has to offer this weekend in Chicago.  Michigan headlines the race, coming in ranked at the top of the Great Lakes region and No. 5 in the country. Michigan State (19), Wisconsin (27), and Indiana (28) join the Wolverines as the other three teams inside the USTFCCCA's top-30. The Illini are ranked No. 3 in the Midwest and are receiving votes in the national poll.    

2014 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS 
The Wisconsin Badgers enter this weekend as the defending Big Ten Champions after winning last year's meet in Iowa City by 30 points over second-place Michigan. Jannis Toepfer and Ian Barnett led the Illini, finishing 23rd and 24th overall, as the Orange and Blue placed 6th as a team. Paul Zeman (45th/24:42.7), Liam Markham (56th/24:56.1), and Alex Gold (92nd/25.58.3) join Ian Barnett as Coach Stewart's returners from last season's Big Ten meet.    

2014 Big Ten Championships - Team Results
1. Wisconsin -- 47
2. Michigan -- 77
3. Penn State -- 92
4. Indiana -- 95
5. Michigan State -- 117
6. ILLINOIS -- 159

2014 Big Ten Championships - Individual Results
23. Jannis Toepfer, 24:14.8
24. Ian Barnett, 24:15.2
30. Bryce Basting, 24:20.7
38. Brendan McDonnell, 24:27.8
45. Paul Zeman, 24:42.7
52. Will Brewster, 24:47.4
53. Garrett Lee, 24:52.5
56. Liam Markham, 24:56.1
92. Alex Gold, 25:58.3

UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue will have 12 days to prepare for the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lawrence, Kansas on November 13. The Illini are currently ranked third in their region.