CHAMPAIGN, Ill.- The Illinois Fighting Illini cross country team is set to open their 2020-21 season at the Big Ten Championships in Shelbyville, Ind. on Saturday, Jan. 30. This follows a delay of the cross country season due to COVID-19. This will be the Illini's first of two meets on the year, with the other being the NCAA Championships. The women's squad is ranked the No. 17 team in the nation by the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association entering the meet. The men are unranked.
Meet Information
Follow the Meet
Fans can stream the 2021 B1G Championships live results at https://live.pttiming.com/XC-PTT.html?mid=2118. The event will also be available on BTN+. Fans can follow @IlliniTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram for updates during the meet. Results will be posted on fightingillini.com at the conclusion of the race, as well as a recap of the day's competition.
Illini Running at B1G Championships
2:00 PM - Men's 8k: Tyler Cushing, Jon Davis, Ben Giblin, Will Giblin, Logan Hall, Edwin Lennon, Irwin Loud IV, Michael Madiol, Anthony Maida, Jack Robert, Edwin Siuda, Colin Yandel
12:30 PM - Women's 6k: Ayah Aldadah, Kelli Callahan, Nicole Cast, Rebecca Craddock, Mary Fix, Katherine Hohe, Olivia Howell, Mikaela Lucki, Allison McGrath, Emma Milburn, Katherine Stapleton
Coach Haveman On B1G Championships
"The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us and our organization on a level I believe many of us couldn't have imagined. Our cross country students athletes have been incredible since March. They have evolved and grown from this adversity. They have taken on each challenge with love for the sport and one another, they have maintained their intense competitiveness and tremendous work ethics and increased their appreciation for all that goes on to support them. Many may view a simultaneous cross country and track schedule and a winter Big Ten Championships as not an ideal situation, but we are incredibly grateful and ready. We are approaching it like we have everything else: a opportunity to showcase who we are and what we are about. An opportunity to showcase the hard work they continued to put in as student-athletes and the hard work everyone in our department has put in to get them to the line. An opportunity to continue to push our program forward and represent Illinois well. An opportunity to do what we love most, compete!"
A Look at The Competition
The Big Ten is filled with competitive programs in both women's and men's cross country. On the women's side, the No. 17 ranked Illini are joined by six other Big Ten programs ranked in the top 30 including: Michigan (6), Michigan State (9), Wisconsin (11), Minnesota (12), Penn State (15), and Indiana (16). In the men's division, four Big Ten teams enter this contest ranked in the top 30: Wisconsin (12), Michigan (15), Indiana (19), Purdue (22).
All Big Ten Team Selections:
The All Big Ten teams will be determined by the placement of this race. Runners finishing in the top seven will receive first team honors, and runners finishing between eighth and 14th place will receive second team honors.
Illini History at B1G Championships
At last year's B1G Championships, the Illini men's team finished in ninth place while the women grabbed 6th place. The women were led by Rebecca Craddock, whose time of 20:50.6 was good enough for 18th place. The women went on to win the NCAA Midwest Regionals following this event.
Irwin Loud led the men's squad, with a time of 24:31.4 which solidified him in 21st place in the event.
Illini Past B1G Championships Results
2019 - Women's Finish - 6th place Men's Finish - 9th place
2018 - Women's Finish - 12th place Men's Finish - 10th place
2017 - Women's Finish - 13th place Men's Finish - 4th place
2016 - Women's Finish - 10th place Men's Finish - 6th place
2015 - Women's Finish - 8th place Men's Finish - 2nd place
Illini Notes
Experienced Illini
The 17th ranked women are led by senior Rebecca Craddock and senior Allison McGrath, each with three full seasons of collegiate cross country experience. Craddock placed 18th in the Big Ten and 159th nationally in the 2019 season, while McGrath placed 22nd in the Big Ten and led the Illini as the 65th woman to finish at the NCAA Championships in 2019.
The men are led by Irwin Loud who placed 21st in the Big Ten last year and and 16th at the NCAA Midwest Regional Finals, as well as the highly decorated redshirt-senior Jon Davis. Last year, Loud finished as the first Illini at each of the meets he competed in. Davis did not compete last year, but was the 2017 USTFCCCA Midwest Region Athlete of the year.
Women's Newcomers
The Fighting Illini women's squad has added four newcomers this season: Ayah Aldadah of Peoria, Ill. , Gabrielle Alongi of Du Quoin, Ill. , Alyssa Norris of Barrington, Ill. , and Breena Shreeves of Knoxville, Ill.
Aldadah is expected to make her Illini debut this weekend.
Men's Newcomers
The Fighting Illini men's squad will feature four newcomers as well this season: Tyler Cushing of Bolingbrook, Ill. , Anthony Maida of Chicago, Ill. , and Ben and Will Giblin of Orland Park, Ill.
Each of the four have also competed for the Illini Indoor Track team so far this season, but will be making their Illini cross country debuts at the meet this weekend. Cushing and both Giblins are expected to run.
Coach Haveman Named Midwest Region Coach of the Year
Fighting Illini head cross country coach Sarah Haveman was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Coach of the Year in 2019 the USTFCCCA announced. Haveman is the second coach in the history of the Illinois women's program to win the award, joining Karen Harvey, who won in 2006.
In just her second season at the helm of Illinois cross country, Haveman became the fastest coach in program history to lead the team to an NCAA Midwest Regional title, which the 2019 Illinois women's cross country team captured on November 15. She surpassed Karen Harvey, who led the Illini to the 2006 regional title in her fifth season as head coach.
