URBANA, ILL – Senior Alex Gold led the Fighting Illini men's cross country team, while freshman Kelli Callahan paced the women's squad as the Orange and Blue wrapped up the 2017 regular season with the Illini Open. Held at the UI Arboretum, Gold took second overall, while Callahan placed 17th.
Running his final cross country race as an Illini, Alex Gold battled Michael Ward (unattached) for the top spot in the men's 8,000 meter race on Friday. Leading for most of the first lap around the course, Gold and Ward were within a second of on another at the first split. Despite Ward pulling ahead in the second half of the race, Gold kept to his 3:09 per kilometer pace to finish 10 seconds of Aho Matt (unattached) in third place. The runner-up finish marks the third time that Gold has finished in the top-10 at a meet this season.
"I really thought from about three miles on [Alex] did a really good job of letting the leader go, and he a did a good job of working his way from the three-mile mark to the finish line with closing the gap as best he could," explained head coach Jake Stewart. "We knew that [Ward] is a heck of a runner and Alex really competed well and did what he could to close gaps and held some guys off behind him. It's an effort that Alex [Gold] can be really pleased with in his last cross country race. It was a nice way for him to wrap up his cross country career."
Joining Gold in the men's 8K at the UI Arboretum were teammates senior Joe Cowlin and redshirt freshman Alex Keeble who finished 12th and 13th, respectively. Running in tandem throughout, Cowlin and Keeble held a steady pace from start to finish, both averaging 3:18 per kilometer, and finished with times of 26:49.4 and 26:54.3.
"[Alex Keeble] started the season really well and had a rough go of it in the middle, and he needed today to get through it in a positive manner," coach Stewart said of the Illini redshirt freshman. "Joe Cowlin epitomizes what our program is about. Joe is a fifth-year senior and hasn't had an easy go of it by any stretch of the imagination with injuries and illness at the most inopportune times. He kept working and believing in his team. I'm really glad Joe got to this point in his career and is a part of this program. What Joe does with his leadership and character speaks to him being a big part of this program, and he's going to be missed."
Leading the Illini women's team was freshman Kelli Callahan with a pace of 3:52.5 per kilometer for a finishing time of 19:29.7 in the 5,000-meter race. Competing for a spot on next week's Big Ten squad, the Palos Heights, Illinois product impressed assistant coach Sarah Haveman with her effort on Friday evening.
"We're really proud of Kelli," said Coach Haveman. "She kept her competitive spirit up the entire time, she had fun with it, she trusted herself and she brought it home. So, I'm really excited to watch her develop each week and really put herself out there. She was exactly what we needed to lead the team today."
With the rest of the women's squad using the Illini Open as a chance to break up training as they prepare for indoor track middle distance events, sophomore Diane Lipa stayed close to Callahan throughout the race, finishing a split second behind the Illini newcomer with a time of 19:29.9.
The next pair of Illini through the finish line were two more second-year Illini as sophomores Vanessa Flaherty (21st/19:37.2) and Grace Rogers (24th/19:54.6) were third and fourth on the team.
Kristina Kladar (42nd/20:55.6), Madeline Bruce (48th/21:34.3) and Nadia Kacmar (50th/22:11.7) rounded out the seven Illini racing on Friday.
Up next, the Fighting Illini begin postseason competition next Sunday at Big Ten Championships in Bloomington, Indiana. The conference meet begins with the men's 8K at 9:45 a.m. central time followed by the women's 6K race at 10:45 a.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.
Illinois Men's Individual Results (Full Results):
2. Alex Gold, 25:37.0
12. Joe Cowlin, 26:49.4
13. Alex Keeble, 26:54.3
Illinois Women's Individual Results (Full Results):
17. Kelli Callahan, 19:29.7
18. Diane Lipa, 19:29.8
21. Vanessa Flaherty, 19:37.2
24. Grace Rogers, 19:54.6
42. Kristina Kladar, 20:55.6
48. Madeline Bruce, 21:34.3
50. Nadia Kacmar, 22:11.7
