Invite Results | Open Results
MADISON, Wis. – The Fighting Illini men's cross country wrapped up competition at the prestigious Ed Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invite, placing 27th as a team. Top-ranked Northern Arizona won the meet with a score of 78.
"We're not the team that showed up today," said Head Coach Jake Stewart. "This isn't what our program is right now, and we have to get it out of our system and move forward in a positive manner."
The Illini were led today by senior Dylan Lafond who placed 96th in the field with a time of 24:59.3. Sitting in 65th place through the first 2,000 meters, Lafond made a push towards the front of the pack, as he moved into the top-30 heading into the second half of the race. However, the Manchester, New Hampshire native was unable to sustain the position, dropping back during the races' final 4,000 meters.
Second through the chute for Coach Stewart was Sean Pengelly, placing 113th overall. Falling back in the pack in the first 1,000m, Pengelly battled his way back through the field in the following 5,000 meters to put himself 115th overall at the 6,000m mark.
"He made up a lot of ground over the course of the last 7,000m," explained Stewart. "It spoke to his maturity. Being in that environment last year, dealing with similar circumstances, he didn't have the outcome last year that he wanted to have. He did a much better job of handling that today. It speaks to his consistency and the way he's developed as an athlete."
Dan Lathrop (127th/25:17.5), Jon Davis (133rd/25:19.3) and Jesse Resier (146th/25:25.0) rounded out the Illinois point-scorers.
In addition to the invite race, five Illini competed in the open race earlier in the day, led by Billy Magnesen in 19th with a time of 25:31.9. Also finishing in the top-40 was Zach Dale (29th/25:45.4) and Garrett Lee (31st/25:46.9).
Up next, the Fighting Illini return home to host the Illini Open to conclude the regular season on October 21. The men's race will be ran at the UI Arboretum at 4:40 p.m.
Illinois Invite Results:
96. Dylan Lafond, 24:59.3
113. Sean Pengelly, 25:08.1
133. Jon Davis, 25:19.3
141. Dan Lathrop, 25:17.5
146. Jesse Reiser, 25:25.0
162. Zack Smith, 25:26.6
171. Alex Gold, 25:43.0
Illinois Open Race Results:
19. Billy Magnesen, 25:31.9
29 Zach Dale, 25:45.4
31. Garrett Lee, 25:46.9
50. Joe Cowlin, 26:19.7
67. Caleb Hummer, 26:48.2
