A new season has arrived for the Illinois Cross Country Club. After a great fall campaign last year, the season didn’t end the way the team wanted. Both the men’s and women’s teams have been working hard through track season and the summer to prepare for a fall full of promise.
The men’s team is loaded with experience and young talent, bringing back six of the seven athletes from last season’s top seven. Junior Michael Frintner is the top returner, coming off a second-team All-American performance at NIRCA Nationals. Other returners include sophomore Josh Feldman, who had a breakout race at Nationals, sophomore William Wolf, senior David Choi and senior Ryan Somerfield. Senior Jared Ripoli also returns for the men this fall. Jared will look to become the first IXC athlete ever to compete in the A-race at Nationals in all four years of his college career. He was the team’s second finisher at Nationals in 2014, earning second team All-American honors.
Also back is grad student Auburn Jimenez, who raced in a limited capacity last year. Auburn was the club’s top man at Augustana last fall, and he should be at the front of the pack in a full season of competition.
Plus, junior Quinn Todzo looks poised to make a splash after a phenomenal track season where he and a strong summer of training. He has consistently improved every season with the team. The team also has a talented group of incoming freshmen waiting to prove themselves over the course of the season.
There’s more unknown on the women’s team. Three athletes return from last year’s top seven in senior Emma Burkhardt, sophomore Anneliese Schulz and senior Allison Gibson. Emma is the top returner and she’ll be looking to end her cross country career with a bang this season. After demonstrating a lot of potential all season, including a tenth place finish at Regionals, she’ll look to make some noise on the national level. Anneliese put together a strong track season and Allison impressed at last year’s Nationals, finishing as the team’s sixth runner.
There’s plenty of opportunity this season for women to step up and make an impact, and there are a lot of options. Junior Erin McKee is back after a semester in Europe and she’ll be poised for a strong season. She was the team’s fourth finisher at Nationals in 2014. Senior Hannah Behle was the team’s top finisher in the Women’s B-race last year. There’s also a big group of promising new recruits. Look for a lot of different contributors for the women’s team this season.
A new face will be leading the club this season. Senior Ryan Somerfield is the fourth coach in program history after spending last season as an assistant to previous head coach Steve Krauklis. He follows Steve (2014-2015), Mark Hayes (2012-2013) and Jacob Englander (2008-2011) in the position.
The team will race in five meets this season, starting this weekend at Eastern Illinois. Next up is a trip to Rock Island for the always competitive Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invite and a swing up to Wisconsin to race on a true cross country course at the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invite. The postseason brings a new wrinkle to the IXC schedule. After hosting the NIRCA Great Plains Regional for the last three years, the team will head to Iowa State for the meet for the first time since 2012. The grand finale and ultimate goal of the season comes at the NIRCA National Championships, back in Hershey, Penn. for the first time since 2013.
