CHARLESTON, IL – The Illinois cross country kicked off their 2017 season, the first as a combined program under Head Coach Jake Stewart, with a combined 9-0 record at the double-dual Eastern Illinois Walt Crawford Open on Friday evening. The men recorded five top-10 finishes, going 5-0, while the women tallied three top-10 finishes to lead the 4-0 dual record.
Tonight's race marked the beginning of a new era in the Illinois cross country and track and field program, as Coach Stewart led a combined program at a meet for the first time since Director of Athletics Josh Whitman made the change last November.
"It was a lot of fun. I think it was fun to start this new era of the program, traveling together," said Coach Stewart. :There was much more interacting between the two teams. I felt the support was different. There was never a lack of support, but there was an added energy today. I thought it was a really fun start in that there was a lot that went into it on both sides, men and women."
On the men's side, a pair of redshirt freshman crossed the finish line first for the team in their Illini debuts. Alex Keeble came through the chute third overall, timing 25:17.71, followed by classmate Jack LaLonde in fourth place with a time of 25:24.52.
"I thought Alex Keeble and Jack LaLonde had exceptional days," explained Stewart. "They were up front early on and really competed well. Much like Rebecca {Craddock} on the women's side, to do that in their first collegiate race was really encouraging and fun for them."
Joining the two redshirt-freshmen in the top-10 were a couple of veterans, Luke Brahm and Alex Gold, and sophomore Caleb Hummer. Primarily a middle distance track athlete, Brahm showed off the work he put in over the summer as he took fifth overall, behind LaLonde, with a time of 25:37.15. Not far behind, Gold came through eight seconds later, finishing in 25:45.41, to finish seventh. Hummer rounded out the top-10 with a time of 25:54.43.
"I thought Luke Brahm had a really nice day," said Stewart. "Brahm is a guy stepping up in distance. On the track, he's more of a mile or 800-meter guy. For him to step up and run a solid cross country race right out of the gate at 8,000 meters shows the summer he's had and the fitness that he's acquired. I thought Alex Gold had a day that he can be satisfied with. I think Alex's result is very indicative of the work we're putting in right now. Caleb [Hummer] did a really good job. He ran the later stages of his race better than he has. He kept his composure and really gave him a chance to be competitive."
Just the same as the men's race, the women's race featured a number of new faces to the Illinois distance program that showed the potential they bring. Led by true freshman Rebecca Craddock's third-place finish, the Illini had five top-15 finishes to lead their undefeated dual record.
"I think they all ran different races. We really liked seeing how aggressive Rebecca {Craddock] was early on. She got to the front and put herself in it from the gun. For a freshman to step in it in her first collegiate race was really exciting. That kind of showed what kind of athlete she is. We had a lot of freshmen and new faces in the lineup today. I think from top to bottom, all those girls competed well and did a really nice job for us."
Finishing second for the Illini, with a two-minute personal-best time, was senior Nicole Choquette. Having primarily ran middle distance for the women's track program, Choquette made significant strides this evening with a personal-best time of 18:28.89.
"Nicole was really exceptional tonight," Stewart said of the senior. "You could tell going into it that there was a lot of newness in the race for her. She started out pretty conservatively, but did a nice job of working her way through the entire race."
In addition to Craddock's debut, freshmen Allison McGrath and Kelli Callahan both finished in the top-15 in their first collegiate races. McGrath finished seventh overall in the 5,000m race with a time of 18:35.22, while Kelli Callahan clocked 18:42.42 for 12th place.
"I thought Allison [McGrath] did a really nice job putting herself in the lead pack early on," continued Stewart. "She did a really good job in the middle of the race of maintaining where she was and fighting for her teammates. We had a nice pack that started together, and worked together. Due to that, a lot of girls were able to set their races up to have good days because they got together early on and worked through the race together."
The Illinois cross country team is back in action in a week when they race at the Indiana State John McNichols Invite on Saturday, September 9. The women's race is set for 8:30 a.m. central time, followed by the men's race at 9 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.
Full Illinois Results:
Men's 8K:
3. Alex Keeble, 25:17.71
4. Jack LaLonde, 25:24.52
5. Luke Brahm, 25:37.15
7. Alex Gold, 25:45.41
10. Caleb Hummer, 25:54.43
16. Brayden Hamblen, 26:14.35
20. Garrett Lee, 26:37.39
38. Denis O'Callghan, 27:25.43
Women's 5K:
3. Rebecca Craddock, 17:58.72
6. Nicole Choquette, 18:28.89
7. Allison McGrath, 18:35.22
12. Kelli Callahan, 18:42.42
14. Miranda Marry, 18:47.84
15. Katie Stapleton, 18:49.44
21. Nicki Cast, 19:02.28
41. Sarah Madsen, 19:36.94
62. Kristina Kladar, 20:50.08
Team Scores:
Men's Double Dual
Eastern Illinois 20, SIUE 35
EIU 19, Bradley 39
EIU 18, Murray State 41
Illinois 26, EIU 31
EIU 17, Southeast Missouri 42
Illinois 17, Bradley 44
Bradley 25, Murray State 30
SIUE 24, Bradley 31
Bradley 24, SEMO 31
Illinois 15, Murray State 48
Illinois 15, SIUE 45
Illinois 15, SEMO 49
SIUE 21, Murray State 34
Murray State 26, SEMO 30
SIUE 20, SEMO 35
Women's Double Dual
EIU 23, Bradley 33
Illinois 21, EIU 40
EIU 23, Murray State 33
EIU 21, SIUE 37
SEMO 20, EIU 38
Illinois 17, Bradley 45
Murray State 27, Bradley 28
Bradley 24, SIUE 33
SEMO 16, Bradley 44
Illinois 19, Murray State 43
Illinois 17, SIUE 46
SEMO 19, Murray State 41
Murray State 25, SIUE 32
SEMO 16, SIUE 45
