Team Results | Individual Results
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Fighting Illini women's cross country earned a sixth-place finish at the John McNichols Invitational at Indiana State on Saturday. The Illini were once again led by junior Rebecca Craddock, who placed 11th overall and timed 17:01.8 in a field that included five USTFCCCA top-10 nationally-ranked programs.
"It was a great day for our women; we are in a really good spot," said head coach Sarah Haveman. "Craddock was impressive today and lead the way through a well executed race plan for our team. With a bit more experience we will be able to continue to evolve and continue to climb."
Freshman Emma Wilson crossed second for the Illini and earned a top-25 finish overall, recording a finish time of 17:31.7 to place 22nd. Sophomore Emma Milburn clocked a new PR at LaVern Gibson Championship Course, timing 17:32.0 to place 25th overall and third on the team. Sophomore Madison Marasco finished 39th overall, recording a finish time of 17:45.8. Rounding out the Illini scorers was junior Allison McGrath, who clocked a finish of 17:47.3 and placed 41st. Illinois finished with a team score of 126.
Also finishing in the top-45 overall was Illini junior Nicki Cast. Cast came in right behind McGrath, placing 42nd overall with a season-best finish time of 17:49.3.
It was a field rich in talent competing at today's John McNichols Invitational, which included 10 nationally-ranked programs between the men's 8K and women's 5K. The women's 5K included four programs ranked in the USTFCCCA National Top-10, with No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Arkansas and No. 8 Stanford cotesting. Big Ten opponent and No. 28 Indiana also competed on Saturday.
Among the leaders in today's talented field, Rebecca Craddock has now led the way for Illinois in both of their meets this season. In the team's first meet, the Illini Open, Craddock won the 5K meet title and clocked a finish time of 16:58.1, which stands as the eighth-fastest 5K finish in program history. The performance garnered Craddock Co-Big Ten Women's Athlete of the Week honors on Sept. 5, the first B1G Weekly accolade of her career.
Up next, the Illini compete next Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Buckeye Preview hosted by Ohio State. The men's 8K will start at 8 a.m. CT, and the women's 6K is slated for 8:45 a.m. CT.
Team Scores
1. Arkansas- 49
2. Stanford- 54
3. Washington- 66
4. Michigan- 75
5. Northern Arizona- 112
6. Illinois- 126
Illinois Individual Results
11. Rebecca Craddock- 17:01.8
22. Emma Wilson- 17:31.7
25. Emma Milburn- 17:32.0
39. Madison Marasco- 17:45.8
41. Allison McGrath- 17:47.3
42. Nicki Cast- 17:49.3
54. Katie Stapleton- 18:10.7
58. Olivia Howell- 18:15.7
59. Lauren Katz- 18:17.3
65. Mikaela Lucki- 18:20.7
68. Caroline Fix- 18:24.9
69. Katie Hohe- 18:25.7
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.
