AMES, Iowa – The Fighting Illini women's cross country team took advantage of the flat Iowa State Cross Country Course, as each of Illinois' six runners set a new 6,000-meter personal-record time at Friday's NCAA Midwest Regional. Freshman Rebecca Craddock led the team with a time of 21:07.5 to place 40th.
"There are a lot of moments from this season that the women can be very proud of," said assistant coach Sarah Haveman. "It will be important that we continue to grow and invest in what we want to be. I believe this fall provides us with something to build upon as we look forward to the indoor track season."
Just as she has done all season, Craddock was the top runner for the Orange and Blue again on Friday morning. Besting her previous 6K personal-best by 24 seconds, the Brunswick, Ohio native placed 40th overall.
"I thought Rebecca Craddock ran a solid race today and has done a great job leading us all season," said coach Haveman.
Running second and third for the Illini was senior Nicole Choquette (131st/22:02.4) and freshman Allison McGrath (134th/22:04.9).
For Choquette, the time shaved almost a full minute off her personal-record time from Big Ten Championships from two weeks ago where she timed 23:00.6 in Bloomington, Indiana. It also marked Choquette's highest team finish since the Greater Louisville Classic.
"Choquette is very special and I'm proud of the way she leads us through moments in races," Haveman said of the Illini senior. "More importantly, I'm proud of how she has stuck by the program and continued to do everything in her power to make us better."
McGrath joined Choquette at the finish line two seconds after the senior runner, 22:04.9, improving her personal-record time from Big Ten Championships by 38 seconds where she also placed third on the team.
The third Illini freshmen in the top four on the team were Nicki Cast as she finished the 6,000-meter race in 22:11.1 and marked a 25 second improvement.
Closing out the five point scorers on the day was senior Miranda Marry with a 22:58.6 time that set a new personal record by 16 seconds over Marry's performance at Wisconsin back in October.
Freshman Katie Stapleton closed out the six Illini runners, just one second behind Marry, as she improved her 6,000-meter time by seven seconds over her race at Wisconsin.
Up next, the Illinois women's distance team will begin preparation for the start of the indoor track season in January.
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):
40. Rebecca Craddock, 21:07.5
131. Nicole Choquette, 22:02.4
134. Allison McGrath, 22:04.9
142. Nicki Cast, 22:11.1
193. Miranda Marry, 22:58.6
194. Katie Stapleton, 22:59.8
Team Scores:
1. Iowa State – 90
2. Oklahoma State – 103
3. Minnesota – 119
4. Missouri – 215
5. South Dakota – 252
24. Illinois - 636
