CHAMPAIGN, ILL. – Illinois Women's Cross-Country kicks off their 2016 campaign on Friday, September 2 at the UI Arboretum where they will host the annual Illini Challenge. The meet is the first of two home meets this fall for the Orange & Blue, as they will also host the Illini Open on October 21.

Illini Set to Run

Head Coach Scott Jones will send 14 runners out on Friday night to make their season debut, including five freshmen making their collegiate debuts.

Full List: Audrey Blazek, Valerie Bobart, Denise Branch, Amanda Fox, Megan Lemersal, Diane Lipa, Sarah Madsen, Robin Manarik, Miranda Marry, Twinkle Mehta, Charlotte Nawor, Grace Rogers, Julia Schultz and Kim Seger

A Look at the Competition

The Fighting Illini will play host to a pair of in-state schools, Northwestern and Northern Illinois to open the 2016 season. The Illini enter the season ranked No. 8 in the USTFCCCA Midwest Region preseason poll. Northwestern comes to Illini Classic after placing 12th at Big Ten Championships last year, while Northern Illinois placed 7th at the MAC conference meet.

Veteran Presence

While the squad loses key contributors Alyssa Schneider and Britten Petrey, Coach Jones returns 10 upperclassmen, six seniors, for 2016. Of the 10 veterans, six set new personal-records at Big Ten Championships last November.  

C'mon on over, Valerie

Now a senior, Valerie Bobart will take over as one of the veteran leaders of Coach Jones' squad. Bobart is coming off of a strong end to her 2015 season, setting personal-record 6K times at both Big Ten Championships and NCAA Midwest Regionals. Bobart carried that success onto the track where she qualified for her first NCAA Prelims in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Blazing a Trail

A model of consistency for the Illini, Audrey Blazek proved crucial in guiding the Illini at the Griak Invite and into the postseason where she placed third on the team at Big Ten Championships and at the NCAA Midwest Regional. As someone who Coach Jones describes as leading from "behind the scenes," the red-shirt junior from Naperville will play a crucial role in Illinois' success this season.

Coach Jones on the Meet

"There are certain things that we want to reestablish and rehearse so that we're ready to go on the starting line. We want to come away with a sense of success, so we won't do anything too radical with our race strategy. We want to see ourselves race well as a team, and, every competition is special, so we want to give 100% effort with the people that are competing. We want to establish ourselves as a top competitive team and one to be reckon with moving forward." 

Last Year at the Challenge

Illinois opened their 2015 season by notching a meet victory over Missouri and Northern Illinois. Alyssa Schenider opened her All-American campaign wit ha 17:43.3 clip, while returning Illini Audrey Blazek and Denise Branch also notched top-10 finishes.

2015 Illini Challenge - Illinois Results

1. Alyssa Schneider, 17:43.3

4. Britten Petrey, 18:19.2

8. Audrey Blazek, 18:44.8

9. Denise Branch, 18:47.4

11. Valerie Bobart, 19:02.8

14. Kim Seger, 19:44.5

19. Megan Lemersal, 20:08.8

24. Ellie Palacios, 21:07.2

2015 Illini Challenge - Team Results

1. Illinois 33

2. Northern Illinois 45

3. Missouri - 46

Up Next

The Fighting Illini will remain in state as they travel to Normal, Illinois for the Country Financial ISU Invite. The Illini finished third at the meet in 2015.