University of Illinois
Illini Open
WXC Takes Fourth at Illini Open
October 21, 2016 | Women's Cross Country
Diane Lipa finishes with top time on the team
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini women's cross country team wrapped up the regular season on Friday evening, placing fourth at the Illini Open. Bradley won the team score with 27 total points. Four Illini, including three true freshmen, improved upon their course time from the Illini Challenge on September 2.
"This was a meet where we really wanted to focus on accomplishing specific individual goals," explained Head Coach Scott Jones. "We rested some people in anticipation of the Big Ten meet next week, so we had some younger people getting racing experience and using it to determine what our lineup will be for Big Ten Championships. I was really pleased with how the freshmen ran, so that bodes well for the future. Since we ran on this course earlier in the season, we were able to do a head-to-head comparison of our times, and we demonstrated a significant improvement over the course of the last few weeks."
Freshman Diane Lipa led the Orange and Blue in their final home meet of the season, timing 19:17.6, besting her time from the Illini Challenge by 25 seconds and placing 22nd overall.
A trio of Illini followed right behind Lipa, as Julia Schultz (24th/19:19.7), Miranda Marry (25th/19:21.6) and Megan Legmersal (26th/19:23.3) came through the chute in consecutive fashion. Schultz's time marked a 39-second improvement over her opening race of the season.
Like her freshmen teammates, Grace Rogers clocked an improved time this evening, finishing the 5,000m race in 19:34.0, placing 31st overall.
Rounding out the field for the Illini were Kristina Kladar (38th/19:53.4) and Robin Manarik (55th/21:16.0).
Up Next
The Fighting Illini will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota for Big Ten Championships on October 30 at the Les Bolstad Course. The women's race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. central time.
Team Scores
1.Bradley - 27
2.Illinois State – 34
3.Northwestern – 91
4.Illinois - 102
Full Illinois Results:
22. Diane Lipa, 19:17.6
24. Julia Schultz, 19:19.7
25. Miranda Marry, 19:21.6
26. Megan Lemersal, 19:23.3
31. Grace Rogers, 19:34.0
38. Kristina Kladar, 19:53.4
55. Robin Manarik, 21:16.0
