University of Illinois
Ed Nuttycombe Invite
Illini Head North for Nuttycombe Invite
October 11, 2017 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Meet begins Friday at 11 a.m. CT
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois cross country competes in their final regular season road meet on Friday, October 13 at the Ed Nuttycombe Invite. Held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, the meet begins with women's and men's open races at 11 a.m. and 11:40 a.m. central time. The championship races will follow at 12:20 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, and be streamed with a subscription to FloTrack.
| Ed Nuttycombe Invite | |
|---|---|
| When | Friday, October 13 |
| Where | Thomas Zimmer Championship Course // Madison, WI |
| Meet Information | Live Results | Live Stream ($) | Meet Central |
| Men's Information | Meet Notes | Performance Lists | Media Guide | Quick Facts |
| Women's Information | Meet Notes | Performance Lists | Media Guide | Quick Facts |
| Social Media | @IlliniMXC @IlliniWXC  | #Illini | @Illinimxc @illiniwxc  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
Meet Information
Running for the Illini
Coach Stewart On the Men's Race
"I want to see us run with the same maturity we've ran with at our last two meets. I think it's a good opportunity to get into a crowd and deal with a lot of people around us. I don't want us to change anything in terms of what our approach or our expectations are. I think we need to run with the same confidence and assertiveness that we've done the last two meets, and, with the makeup of our group, I think that's something that's very attainable."
Coach Stewart On the Women's Race
"I want to see us run collectively more as a group and as a team, using one another to get through tough spots of the race. It's the first time they're bumping up to 6K so that's going to be a new experience for some of these athletes. They need to rely on their teammates to help get them there. Our work has gone really well since Louisville, so we want to put ourselves in a good position and compete at a meet that represents what we're striving to be in the next couple of years."
A Look At The Competition
The ninth running of the Ed Nuttycombe Invite again features a loaded field on both the men's and women's side. The 16th-ranked Illini men are one of 20 USTFCCCA ranked teams in the field, including five top-10 teams headlined by top-five teams No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 3 Syracuse and No. 4 Stanford. On the women's side, 16 ranked squads are entered, including five teams ranked in the top-10 led by No. 3 New Mexico.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
The Illini are coming off the Greater Louisville Classic two weeks ago that saw the men's side place fifth in a highly competitive field, while the Illinois ladies team had five personal-record performances. Jon Davis led the men with the fourth-fastest 8K in Illinois history, clocking 23:43.14 to finish 12th overall. On the women's side, freshman Rebecca Craddock clocked her third consecutive PR of the season, timing 17:36.93.
Illini Men Ranked Nationally
The Fighting Illini men's cross country team has jumped eleven spots in the last two week's USTFCCCA polls, climbing to No. 16 nationally. The top team in the Big Ten, the Illini's rank is also the highest in program history during the weekly USTFCCCA rankings. The Illini rank second in the Midwest region ahead of Iowa State and behind Oklahoma State.
Jon Davis Runs Fourth-Fastest 8K in Illinois History
The first Illini to run a sub-24:00 8K since 2015 Big Ten Championships, sophomore Jon Davis clocked 23:43.14 in Louisville on September 30. Davis' time ranks fourth in Illinois history, third best among 8K times, as Ty Wolf's 23:43.0 mark came on the way to a 10K at the 1984 District IV Meet. Former Illini Dylan Lafond holds the school record of 23:22.4 at 2015 Big Ten Championships.
Jesse Reiser Named Big Ten Athlete of the Week
Following the Battle in Beantown on September 22, the Big Ten conference named Jesse Reiser its Athlete of the Week. The honor comes on the heels of an individual title at the Battle in Beantown for the Illini junior. Reiser won the race with the second-fastest 8K of his career (24:12), edging sophomore teammate Jon Davis (24:13) who took second.
Craddock Leading Illini in First Season
Freshmen Rebecca Craddock has wasted no time in contributing, as the Brunswick, Ohio native has led the Illini in each of her first three collegiate races. In addition to leading the Illini, the newcomer has lowered her 5K personal-record in each race. After timing 17:58 at Eastern Illinois and 17:53 at Boston, Craddock shaved 17 more seconds off (17:36) at the Greater Louisville Classic.
Fighting Illini Begin First Season As Combined Program
Following the consolidation of the Illinois cross country and track programs, Jake Stewart has been charged with leading both the men's and women's distance programs. Now in his sixth season at Illinois, Stewart led the men's team for the previous five years and most recently led the squad to its first NCAA Cross Country Championship appearance in 30 years. Sarah Haveman joins the staff as an assistant coach after spending five years coaching at Dayton.
Illini Men Bring Championship Experience
Not only did the Illini advance to NCAA Cross Country Championships for the first time since 1986, placing 23rd, the group did so with a lineup mainly comprised of underclassmen. The Illini are just one of four teams to return five or more runners from last year's NCAA lineup, tying Iowa State and Virginia and just one behind Southern Utah's six returners. Each of the five Illini back in 2017 have two years of eligibility remaining, including Jon Davis and Zach Dale who are only entering their sophomore season.
Branching Out
Leading a young women's squad in the first year under Coach Stewart will be senior Denise Branch. Having finished first or second on the team in every race she competed in last fall, Branch will look to build a foundation for success in 2017 and beyond. Branch's best time of the season came at the Iowa Regional Preview meet last October where her personal-record 6,000m time of 21:19 helped lead the Illini to the team title. The Brooklyn, New York native carried that success into the track season where she set new personal-best times in the mile, 1500m, 3,000m and 5,000m.
Illini Women Feature 16 Underclassmen
With the change in leadership on the women's side, the team itself will also look new with 10 incoming freshman joining the team this fall to go along with six returning sophomores. Delaney Appino, Alana Austin, Madeline Bruce, Kelli Callahan, Nicki Cast, Rebecca Craddock, Caroline Fix, Mikaela Lucki, Allison McGrath and Katie Stapleton all begin their Illini careers this fall.
Up Next
The Fighting Illini will run their final regular season meet of the season at home, as they host the Illini Open on Friday, October 20. Hosted at the UI Arboretum, the men's race will begin at 4 p.m., followed by the women's race at 4:40 p.m.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini cross country, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniMXC and @IlliniWXC) and Instagram (@IlliniMXC and @IlliniWXC) and like Fighting Illini Men's Cross Country and Fighting Illini Women's Cross Country on Facebook.
