Meet Notes
Meet PREVIEW
Seniors Alyssa Schneider and Britten Petrey will lead a group of nine into the Big Ten Championships meet this Sunday at 11:45 am. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the championships on tape delay on November 12th at 7:00pm CT. Fighting Illini's Director of Cross-Country Operations, Eric Vetter, will be featured as one of the analysts.
MEET INFORMATION
Hosted by Northwestern, the Big Ten Championships will take place at the Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course, located at 3600 N. Recreation Drive in Chicago, Illinois. The men's race will precede the women's race at 10:45am. Following the 11:45am women's race, the awards ceremony will commence at approximately 1pm. The event is free and parking will be available for fans along W. Montrose Dr. and N. Simonds Dr., located north of the course.
COACH JONES ON THE MEET
"The Big Ten and the regional meet are those that define are season, and so I think we've done a good job with our training. We've been consistent over the course of the summer, and since we started school. So for most of them, the toughness that's required is that mental toughness when we're backing off of our training a little bit. [We're] just doing enough to freshen up and remain sharp, but nothing more than that at this stage. Most of the people traveling have competed in cross-country championships, and all have competed in Big Ten Championships in track or cross-country so I think it will definitely help us having been in that environment before. We just have to take care of our business and not worry about what the other schools are doing."
ILLINI SET TO RUN
Nine runners will put on the Orange and Blue this weekend at the Big Ten meet, led by Alyssa Schenider who will be running in her first meet since the Roy Griak Invite on September 26. Joining her will be fellow senior Britten Petrey; who is coming off her individual victory at the Illini Open last weekend. The Illini will also feature four others who competed at the 2014 Big Ten Championships meet: Valerie Bobart, Denise Branch, Megan Lemersal, and Hanna Winter. Rounding out the nine for Coach Jones will be three Illini making their Big Ten Championships debut: Audrey Blazek, Kim Seger, and 2015 600m Track & Field Big Ten Champion Nicole Choquette.
A LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
The Big Ten Conference boasts a handful of nationally-ranked teams that will face off against the Illini on Sunday, headlined by #2 Michigan who will come in as the favorite to take the title. Penn State (15th) and Minnesota (22nd) is currently in the top-25, while defending Big Ten Champion Michigan State (21st) will attempt to defend their crown. Purdue rounds out the USTFCCCA rankings, coming into Sunday's meet ranked 30th.
LAST YEAR'S BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Fighting Illini came in 9th out of the 14-team field last November in Iowa City with Michigan State winning the team crown. Individually, Coach Jones' squad was led by Hanna Winter's 21:08.1 8K performance. Alyssa Schneider and Britten Petrey finished within four seconds of each other, placing 58th and 64th overall. Denise Branch (87th), Megan Lemersal (97th), and Valerie Bobart (98th) also ran at least season's Big Ten meet, giving the Orange and Blue six returning runners for the 2015 Championships.
2014 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS -- INDVIDUAL RESULTS
38. Hanna Winter, 21:08.1
46. Amanda Fox, 21:17.6
58. Alyssa Schnneider, 21:27.1
64. Britten Petrey, 21:31.6
65. Chloe Schmidt, 21:36.7
74. Colette Falsey, 21:50.8
87. Denise Branch, 22:11.4
97. Megan Lemersal, 22:31.2
98. Valerie Bobart, 22:32.3
UP NEXT
Scott Jones will take his team to Lawrence, Kansas in two weeks for the NCAA Midwest Regional on November 13.
