Full Results 

Rock Island, Ill. - In the team's final prep before next week's Greater Louisville Classic, the Orange and Blue notched three top-10 finishes at the Brissman-Lundeen Invite, a course that mimics the style that they will see at the Big Ten Championship meet. En route to taking home the team crown with 65 team points, the Illini outpaced runner-up Wartburg by 49 points. Ian Barnett led the group of six with a second-place finish in his season debut.

"Overall, it was a pretty fast course, they got out and got after it," said volunteer assistant coach Ryan Root. "I think it set up the guys looking to go to Louisville [next week] pretty nicely to get another race under their belt.

Senior Ian Barnett made his first appearance this season Friday night and finished with a strong second-place finish, clocking in at 24:27.2.

"He looked really good out there, under control," said Root. "All by himself out there, I think he posted a pretty nice time. I think his confidence is very high. I think his fitness level is also very high."

Not far behind Barnett in the top-10 was teammate Jereme Atchison who finished fourth overall. It was the second consecutive meet where Atchison impressed Coach Stewart, this time surpassing last week's time by over a minute with a finishing time of 24:45.6.

"Jereme has been on a roll the last three races," said Coach Root. "All the races he's had so far have been up to the standards he's capable of. He's had some bad luck in the past, but now all of his hard work is coming through at the right time. Depending on what Coach Stewart wants to do with him at Louisville, and after, I think he's set himself up nicely just by being a consistent performer."

Rounding out the top-10 finishes for the Orange and Blue was Alex Gold, making his first appearance since the Illini Challenge on September 4^th, finishing fifth with a time of 24:48.3.

"I thought Gold had a really nice performance," said Coach Root. "He's been a little banged up early in the season, and I think today was a good day to have a good, solid performance. I think he's been waiting to have [a meet] like that for awhile."

Joe Cowlin and Gareet Lee came through the chute separated by 13 seconds, Cowlin finishing 23^rd and Lee 31^st. Cowlin's mark of 25:28.3 improved upon his Spartan Invite finish by over 20 seconds. Joe McAsey rounded out the group, finishing at 27:39.4

Up Next: The Illini will begin their October slate with a trip back to the state of Kentucky where they will put their best up against some of the top competition in the country at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday, October 3.

TEAM RESULTS:

INDIVIDUAL RESUSULTS:

2. Ian Barnett, 24:27.2

4. Jereme Atchison, 24:45.6

5. Alex Gold, 24:48.3

23. Joe Cowlin, 25:28.3

31. Garrett Lee, 25:41.5

167. Joe McAsey, 27:39.4