The Illinois Cross Country had a successful trip north this weekend to the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invite. The women finished fifth out of 16 teams and the men finished third of 16 teams. IXC took on a very challenging course in the Wayne E. Dannehal National Cross Country Course and came away from the enormous hills with lots of promising results.
The women’s team impressed right off the bat as women’s captain Megan Mocogni had an awesome performance to take third place overall. Mocogni smashed the women’s 5K record by 15 seconds. Last season, Mocogni finished 52nd. After a seventh place finish at Augustana a few weeks ago, Mocogni earned her second consecutive top finisher t-shirt at Parkside. Once again, Beth “Betty” McGreal was close behind Mocogni. Beth took sixth overall. When she ran at Parkside her senior year in 2013, Beth finished in 100th place and ran 19:37, this year she was 94 places higher and 47 seconds faster. It’s uncertain how much of Beth’s success can be attributed to riding in an all-star car to Kenosha.
Behind the women’s top two stellar stalwarts was another athlete who has put together a fantastic fall season. Lauren “Loco LoCho” Choi took 29th in her first time on Parkside’s brutal course, running the same time Beth did two years ago en route to a NIRCA All-American finish at Nationals. In her second race of the season, Heather Guetterman handled the hills well to be the women’s fourth finisher. Before the meet, head coach Steve Krauklis said that freshman Anneliese Schulz has looked better and better every workout. Anneliese delivered and ran a stellar race to finish out the women’s scoring five, finishing 53rd with a 20:22. The women’s sixth and seventh runners were within one second of each other- Abby Madden ran a strong season debut in 20:35 (she also benefited from an all-star car) and freshman Jill Monier continued a solid freshman campaign with a 20:36.
Hannah Behle ran her strongest race of the season right behind Jill and five seconds faster than last season. Coach Krauk said freshman Becky Haight put on “quite the show,” with a very impressive finishing kick. Anastasia Rodriguez ran her first meet with the team and put together a good debut after a string of consistent workouts while sophomore Audrey Vandercar put in another solid race.
The men’s team had a strong showing, also led by two top performers. Auburn “The King of Campus” Jiminez and Jared Ripoli finished in ninth and 12th place to pace the men’s team. Auburn’s first race with the club team was one to remember, and it’s in his first cross country season only playing one sport. Brad “The Teacher”Coyle put in another good finish in a consistent string of races this fall. He’s been able to remember some of his old cross country tricks after several years away from the sport. David Choi wasn’t far behind as the team’s fourth finisher and Michael “One-Speed” Frintner was the men’s final scorer. Willy “The Pup” Wolf was sixth for the team followed by fellow freshman Josh Feldman in their first races at Parkside.
Co-workers Henry “The Boss” Wolf and Quinn “The Boss’s Personal Assistant” Todzo both ran stellar races, with Henry at 27:44 and the Dancellor at 27:47. Sean McCarty has been improving every race this season, and continued that with another solid showing at Parkside. Cody Hansen blew his time at Parkside last year out of the water, running a full minute and 12 seconds faster this year. Parkside was also a special occasion as the first cross country race with the team for Coach Krauk since Nationals his sophomore year in 2013. Krauk accomplished his pre-race goal, in what may be his final cross country race competing with the team.
Several athletes ran their first ever race with IXC at Parkside and they deserve a shout-out for toughing it out on the Dannehal course. Anastasia and Amanda Lesak made collegiate debuts with the women, while Auburn and Alex Notton also ran their first-ever races with the club.
Parkside also provided an opportunity for several IXC parents to come out and cheer on the team, and their support was greatly appreciated. Thank you to the Dinis, Mrs. Rodriguez, the Krauklises, the Dixons ft. Grandma Dixon, the Manariks, the Moniers, the Feldmans, the Schulzes and any other parents I might not have seen for coming out to root on IXC.
We also had a strong showing from IXC alumni at Parkside. Brendan McDonnell, Evan White, Greg Netols, Zach Boehmke and Emma Grimes all donned Illinois singlets to race alongside the current team. Monica O”Connor, Megan McGreal, Kevin Kibler and Max Silva also showed up to cheer on the team.
After Parkside, a group of alumni and current athletes headed to Chicago to volunteer at the finish line of Sunday’s Chicago Marathon. Thanks to everyone who turned out to volunteer, it was a great experience to hang out with current and former teammates (plus it included a slick free jacket).
IXC next toes the line at the NIRCA Great Plains Regional right here in Champaign on Halloween. It’s the start of the post-season for the club and the team’s only home meet as NIRCA teams from around the Midwest will descend upon the Arboretum in the penultimate meet of the season. We had a great showing of support at Parkside, and we hope to see even more of you on our home turf in a few weeks!
![several years]("http://i.imgur.com/B3Xx2So.jpg){kind=link}