BLOOMINGTON, IN – Running five true freshmen at Big Ten Championships, the Illinois women's cross country team was led by freshman Rebecca Craddock who placed 45th for the Illini. As a team, the Orange and Blue finished 13th overall as Michigan won the team title with 55 points ahead of second place Minnesota (86) and third place Wisconsin (100).
"I think we had a solid day," assistant coach Sarah Haveman said following the meet. "I believe it will be a good building block moving forward, and there are parts of today that we can take and use when we're here next year. We'll be stronger, more mature and a better place in a year's time."
Freshman Rebecca Craddock led the young Illini with a 45th place finish, sixth-best among all freshmen. Starting out in 23rd place after the first kilometer, Craddock dropped back to 46th over the next 2,000 meters where she held her position over the remaining 4,000 meters. Entering the final kilometer in 49th, Craddock finished strong by picking off four runners to take 45th.
"Rebecca did great, and she's done great all season," said coach Haveman. "It's not an easy spot to be in and I belive she's handeled it very maturely with a lot of confidence and poise. Those qualities will definitely help her as she moves forward and continues to progress through her collegiate career. It's only fair to truly recognize how well she's done leading the program and setting a tone for the program we want to be going forward."
Freshmen Nicki Cast and Allison McGrath continued the string of three Illini newcomers at the front for Coach Haveman's squad, finishing in 22:34.7 and 22:42.1, respectively. Both running their second career 6,000-meter races, Cast and McGrath both improved upon their times from the Ed Nuttycombe Invite two weeks ago. Cast finished a second faster than she did at Wisconsin (22:35.4), while McGrath shaved over a minute off her time earlier this month (23:58.3).
"Nicki has done great and it's kind of transpired in the last couple of weeks," commented coach Haveman. "In the last couple of weeks she's done a great job of connecting the group a little bit closer to Rebecca [Craddock}. It's important to continue to progress as a full group, and that's something Allison did early on in the season. Between the two of them, we need them to continue to close the gap and pull people along while still establishing themselves as individuals."
The lone Illini to run at Big Ten Championships prior to today, Nicole Choquette placed fourth on the team with a time of 23:00.6. The time marks an improvement over her performance at 2015 Big Ten Championships when she clocked 23:01.50.
Sophomore Morgan Schulz and freshman Katie Stapleton placed fifth and sixth on the team, respectively, crossing the finish line two seconds apart. Schulz timed 23:09.0, while Katie Stapleton (23:11.4) passed nine runners in the second half of the race, including five in the final kilometer.
Freshman Kelli Callahan rounded out the seven Illini runners with a time of 24:30.6. Miranda Marry also ran for the Illini, but was unable to finish due to injury.
The Orange and Blue will continue their season in two weeks at the Midwest Regional in Ames, Iowa on Friday, November 10.
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 Individual Results (Full Results):
45. Rebecca Craddock, 21:34.5
85. Nicki Cast, 22:34.7
88. Allison McGrath, 22:42.1
96. Nicole Choquette, 23:00.6
100. Morgan Schulz, 23:09.0
101. Katie Stapleton, 23:11.4
117. Kelli Callahan, 24:30.6
DNF. Miranda Marry
Team Scores:
1.Michigan – 55
2. Minnesota – 86
3. Wisconsin – 100
4. Penn State – 107
5. Michigan State – 119
6. Ohio State – 149
7. Indiana – 156
8. Northwestern – 227
9. Purdue – 232
10. Maryland – 257
11. Iowa – 303
12. Nebraska – 336
13. Illinois – 371
14. Rutgers - 427
