I FUND Scholar Athlete of the Week | Allison McGrath
November 14, 2018 | Women's Cross Country, Academic Services
Allison McGrath
Women's Cross Country
Sophomore | Wheaton, IL
Integrative Biology
Illinois women's cross country ran to a fourth place finish out of 35 competing teams at the NCAA Midwest Regional Friday at Newman Golf Course in Peoria. The fourth place finish is a twenty-spot improvement from last year's 24th place finish. The Illini were led by sophomore Allison McGrath and freshman Madison Marasco, whose top-25 performances earned each of the Illini runners All-Region honors. McGrath finished first for the Illini, placing 18th overall with a personal-best 6K finish of 21:01.0.
The result is the best finish for Illinois women's cross country at the NCAA Midwest Regional since 2009. The Fighting Illini women finished with a final team score of 203. They edged out Northwestern for fourth, who finished with a final score of 205. Northwestern placed higher than Illinois at the EIU Walt Crawford Open and at Big Ten Championships before Illinois earned the better result at the Midwest Regional. The team that Illinois sent to Midwest Regionals was comprised of all underclassmen. Of the Illini runners, four placed in the overall top-50 of the race.
