CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini cross country will travel to Peoria, Ill. to run in the Bradley Pink Classic on Friday. The women's 6K meet will begin at 3:15 p.m. CT, and the men's 8K race will follow at 4 p.m. CT. Both races will take place at Newman Golf Course, which will also be the site for NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Nov. 9.
Meet Information
Follow the Meet
The 2018 Bradley Pink Classic will be using Live Timing Results with intermediate splits at each kilometer throughout all races available online. Following the meet, results will be posted at: www.bradleybraves.com, www.shazamracing.com, and www.directathletics.com.
Running for the illini
Men: Zach Dale, Logan Hall, Caleb Hummer, Jack LaLonde, Dan Lathrop, Billy Magnesen Wyatt McIntyre, Denis O'Callaghan, Zack Smith Colin Yandel
Women: Kelli Callahan, Nicki Cast, Rebecca Craddock, Caroline Fix, Vanessa Flaherty, Lauren Katz, Mikaela Lucki, Madison Marasco, Allison McGrath, Emma Milburn, Mikayla Olsen, Grace Rogers, Katie Stapleton
Coach Haveman On the Men's Race
"This is a great opportunity for us. They've done better every race and we are confident they will continue to develop in that direction."
Coach Haveman On the Women's Race
"The women are eager to race again. They are growing as individuals and as a team and are excited for the opportunity this weekend."
Know The Course
The Newman Golf Course is a USTFCCCA certified course and has hosted the Missouri Valley Conference and NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. The Men's 8K course consists of the initial 2,000m loop, followed by the inner 2000m loop repeated 3 times before heading into the finish straightaway. The Women's 6K course consists of the initial 2,000m loop, followed by the inner 2000m loop repeated twice before heading into the finish straightaway. he first 2,000m loop is run once and is mostly flat. The second 2,000m loop consists of rolling hills. The course is extremely spectator friendly.
A Look At The Competition
Of the 41 teams running at the Bradley Pink Classic, the Illini will be competing against several teams that also rank in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings. Both the men's and women's teams will be tested by Iowa State, who ranks No. 1 in the region as well as sixth (men) and 15th (women) nationally. The No. 6 Illini men will also take on Midwest Regional ranked opponents No. 7 Bradley, No. 8 Illinois State, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 13 Drake and No. 15 Eastern Illinois. The No. 7 Illinois women look for a strong performance to continue their climb up the rankings. Along with Iowa State, challengers represented in the Midwest Regional rankings include Big Ten foe, No.6 Iowa, as well as No. 10 Bradley, No. 12 Northern Illinois and No. 15 Northern Iowa.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
The men's and women's teams return to competition after racing at separate meets, with the men competing at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invite on Sept. 28 and the women racing at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Sept. 29. All of the men set new season-bests at Nuttycombe as the team finished 29th in a field that included 18 teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National top-30 rankings. Redshirt senior Billy Magnesen finished first for the Illini and placed 80th overall with a time of 24:21.2. At the Loyola Lakefront Invitational, 12 Illini women set new personal-bests as the team raced to fourth place in the 33 team field. Freshman Madison Marasco led the way for the Illini in Chicago, placing seventh overall and first on the team clocking a time of 17:00.70.
Hummer, Hall set New PR's
Along with all members of the men's team setting new season-best times at Nuttycombe, redshirt junior Caleb Hummer and freshman Logan Hall set milestones by recording new personal-best times. Hall finished third on the team and placed 162nd overall, posting a new PR of 24:56.9. Hummer raced to fourth on the team and 181st overall, clocking a new career-best time of 25:13.3.
Mighty Marasco
Freshman Maddie Marasco has turned in strong performances for the Illini in her first two collegiate races. The Schaumburg, Ill. native raced to top-10 overall finishes at both the Commodore Classic and the Loyola Lakefront Invitational, placing 10th at Vanderbilt and 7th in Chicago. In both races she finished first for the Orange and Blue, posting times of 17:46.8 at the Commodore Classic and 17:00.70 at Loyola.
Illini In the Rankings
The Fighting Illini women jumped up five spots to No. 7 in the Oct. 1 edition of the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings after their fourth place performance at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational. The women's team still sits at No. 7, while the men's team ranks No. 6 in the Midwest Region.
Illini begin first season under Haveman
Sarah Haveman takes over for Jake Stewart as the head coach for both the men's and women's teams. Haveman begins her second season overall with the Orange and Blue after serving as an assistant coach last season. In 2017 she guided graduate student Nicole Choquette to two Big Ten medals and an NCAA quarterfinal appearance. Haveman came to Illinois in 2017 after five years at Dayton, where she was promoted to Director of Track & Field and Cross Country in the spring of 2016. Nolan Fife has been promoted from volunteer assistant coach to assistant coach for the cross country teams.
Sophomore Strong
The Illini women's sophomore class features some of the team's top finishers from last season. Rebecca Craddock looks to build off a stellar freshman campaign in which she finished first for the Orange and Blue in every meet of the 2017 season. Craddock placed 40th at Midwest Regionals and 45th at Big Ten Championships. She set a new 5K career-best in each of her first three meets. Also returning from the sophomore class are Nicki Cast and Allison McGrath, who finished second and third on the team respectively at Big Ten Championships.
Men Return Familiar Faces
The Fighting Illini men's squad returns seven Letterwinners while only losing two from the 2017 season. Redshirt seniors Billy Magnesen and Zack Smith return for the Illini. Both seniors had historic performances at Midwest Regionals last season, turning in top-10 times in Illinois history in the 10K. Smith and Magnesen each finished the race with a time of 29:48.4, which tied them for the sixth best 10K time in school history. Redshirt seniors Dan Lathrop and Denis O'Callaghan also return to the Illini to add-on to the veteran makeup of the team. The Fighting Illini will look to return to NCAA Championships for the second time in three seasons after they qualified in 2016 for the first time since 1986.
Underclassmen Charge
Aside from returning junior leaders Vanessa Flaherty and Grace Rogers, the rest of the Illini women's roster is comprised of 17 underclassmen. Seven of those 17 are newcomers to the program, which includes Shaheeda Dade, Brooke Delahanty, Shanice Garbutt, Lauren Katz. Madison Marasco, Emma Milburn and Mikayla Olsen.
Up Next
The Fighting Illini will host their lone home meet of the season, the Illini Open, on Friday, Oct. 19 at the UI Arboretum. The women's race will begin at 4 p.m. CT and the men's race will follow at 4:40 p.m. CT. Admission to the meet is free.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini Cross Country, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@IlliniTrackXC) and Instagram (illinitrackxc) and like Fighting Illini Track and Field & Cross Country on Facebook.
