USTFCCCA National Rankings
NEW ORLEANS - Fighting Illini women's cross country earned the No. 21-rank in the Week 3 USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll, announced by the USTFCCCA on Tuesday. This marks the first time the Illinois women's program has been ranked in the national poll since 2009.
The Illini had received votes in the Week 2 USTFCCCA National Poll after a sixth-place finish at the John McNichols Invitational on September 21, which featured five nationally-ranked programs. The Orange and Blue continued their strong start to the season this past weekend at the Buckeye Preview at Ohio State, placing second. Illinois finished with a team score of 61, beating out both then-No. 21 Ohio State (74) and No. 16 Penn State (87).
This weekend's finish also helped the Illini move up in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional rankings. The Illini surpassed Minnesota for the first time this season, and now sit at No. 3 in the region. Iowa State ranks first in the Midwest region, followed by Oklahoma State.
The Illini have been led in each of their three meets this season by junior Rebecca Craddock. Last weekend at the Buckeye Preview, Craddock finished third overall and clocked a 6K finish time of 20:37.3, which is the seventh-fastest 6K in Illinois program history. In her season debut at the Illini Open on August 30, she won the 5K meet title with a 16:58.1-finish, which ranks as the eighth-fastest 5K in program history. The performance earned Craddock her first Big Ten Athlete of the Week accolade.
Freshman Emma Wilson has also been stellar, finishing second for the Illini in each of the team's first three meets. She finished 12th overall at the Buckeye Preview in her first collegiate 6K, timing 21:15.4 Sophomores Emma Milburn and Madison Marasco and junior Allison McGrath have contributed to the Illinois team score as well in each of the first three meets. At last weekend's Buckeye Preview, Milburn, Marasco and McGrath scored 13, 16 and 17 points for the team, respectively.
Fighting Illini head cross country coach Sarah Haveman has guided the Illini into the national ranks. In her first season at the helm of Illinois cross country in 2018, Haveman coached the women's group to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional. The finish was a 20-spot jump from the team's 24th-place regional finish in 2017, and the best regional finish for the Illini since 2009.
The Illini will next compete at Pre-Nationals, which will be held Saturday, October 19 at Indiana State. The women's 6K is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT.
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.
