Full Results
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Dylan Lafond earned his second cross country All-Big Ten honor, placing 10th overall, as the Fighting Illini men's cross country finished sixth at Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Running at the Les Bolstad Golf Course, the Illini finished with 126 points, just three points behind No. 14 Michigan (123) and seven points behind fourth-place Minnesota (119). No. 18 Wisconsin earned the team title with a score of 63. Â
"I thought we competed well," said Head Coach Jake Stewart. "I thought we competed at a level that was our best this fall. I don't want to be overly satisfied with our placing, but I think we can be satisfied with what we attempted to do and how hard we attempted to do it."
Lafond claimed his second consecutive All-Big Ten honor, placing 10th overall with a time of 24:56.0. The senior's time marked an improvement of almost two minutes over his Roy Griak time earlier this season.
"Today was a big confidence booster," said Lafond. "My plan going into the race was to hit the 5,000-meter mark, and then slowly keep moving up. That's what I did; I went out a little easier than I normally do. Usually I'm out at the front of the pack, but I stuck in the back with the hilly course, and just slowly went with the momentum of the pack. Doing that brought me right up to the top-10 and I just grinded it out from there. The biggest thing for me today was to hit 2,000m [left] and still have the grit and grind left in my legs to bring me through the finish line."
Second through the finish line today for the Orange and Blue was freshman Jon Davis. Placing 17th overall, Davis improved upon his time at Les Bolstad from Roy Griak a month ago, shedding over a minute off of his time to finish in 25:07.2.
"Jon, in his first Big Ten meet, ran very well on a course that six weeks ago he really struggled on," said Stewart. "He made smart decisions, and was much more involved and calm in the race. I think he can build off of this and be a player in this race the next three or four years."
Zack Smith led the next round of Illini through the finish line, placing 30th overall with a time of 25:20.4. The 30th place finish marked a 15-spot improvement over his first Big Ten race last season. Sean Pengelly (33rd/25:23.3), Zach Dale (36th/25:29.1) and Dan Lathrop (38th/25:30.3) followed within 10 seconds of each other to round out the scoring for the Illini.
"I thought both Zack Smith and Zach Dale had their best races of the year," explained Stewart. "Those guys ran really well, came up big for us today. That was a race, and a showing, that was representative of who they are as runners. That's what we expect of them, and they can build off of that."
Jesse Reiser (43rd/25:36.1), Billy Magnesen (50th/25:40.7) and Alex Gold (56th/25:50.8) concluded the Illini performances on the day. All three times marked an improvement over their course time at the Roy Griak meet.
Team Scores:
1.Wisconsin – 63
2.Michigan State – 66
3.Indiana – 92
4. Minnesota – 119
5. Michigan – 123
6. Illinois – 126
Full Illinois Results:
10. Dylan Lafond, 24:56.0
17. Jon Davis, 25:07.2
30. Zack Smith, 25:20.4
33. Sean Pengelly, 25:23.3
36. Zach Dale, 25:29.1
38. Dan Lathrop, 25:30.3
43. Jesse Reiser, 25:36.1
50. Billy Magnesen, 25:40.7
56. Alex Gold, 25:50.8
