The Illinois Cross Country Club had a successful Saturday at the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invite on October 8. By unofficial count, the men finished third and the women finished seventh. Several men had strong showings on the tough Parkside course while several new women rose into important new scoring roles.
For the first time this season, the men raced first on Saturday. Senior Jared “Big Red” Ripoli was the first runner across the line for IXC in 26:24. Jared is a Parkside veteran in every sense of the word, this year’s meet marked his tenth time running on the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course and he made his last ride count. Stellar sophomores Willy Wolf and Josh Feldman were second and third, continuing a strong run of races and clinching elusive top-25 Parkside t-shirts.
Junior Michael Frintner was fourth for the men in his best race of the season so far, a powerful performance before the chance to meet his idol in Chicago later that day. Senior David “Bam Bam” Choi was shortly behind Frintner to round out the scoring five.
Two new faces completed the men’s top seven in junior transfer Richard Skogsberg and true freshman Zach Mesplay. Richard had a solid run in his second race with the club. The Lewis transfer faced off against some former Great Lakes Valley Conference foes at Parkside. Mesplay has put together a strong string of practices and two good races in his first collegiate season. He’s the first freshman to finish in the men’s top seven this season. Freshman Mackenzie Bach, beater on the Illinois quidditch team, also had a strong race to finish as the team’s eighth man.
Two years ago, it was love at first sight for senior Tyler Dixon upon arrival at the Dannehl course in Kenosha. It was a fitting farewell to Parkside for Tyler. He’s a fan of the tough, hilly course and he cruised into a strong 28:43 finish with his parents and grandma cheering him on. Freshman Jacob Anderson also just keeps on dropping time, as he improved again at Parkside, running 50 seconds faster than Augustana despite the much tougher terrain.
In the women’s race, several new runners made waves by stepping up into the top seven. Two of the women’s top runners this season, senior captain Emma Burkhardt and sophomore Anneliese Schulz, did not compete at Parkside. The women also had to adapt to a last-minute lengthening of the race, run as a 6K instead of a 5K.
Freshman Emily Condic was the first finisher for the women’s team. After a good night’s sleep at her home in Lake Forest, Emily ran a strong race to finish 21st in 23:44. In her season debut, sophomore Sarah Folliard had a fantastic race to finish as the team’s second runner. Senior Allison Gibson, who has become a top seven stalwart, was the third finisher for the women. Junior Erin McKee, now back on US soil, has also become a steady top seven contributor. She’s scored for the women in every meet so far this season.
The race of the day belonged to the women’s fifth runner, sophomore Noel “Schnellmädchen” Brindise. Noel ran a huge PR and silenced any self-doubts in a 26:23 finish. With some top runners out for the women, she answered the call with a great race.
Junior Jillian Monier came in just behind Noel to finish as the team’s sixth runner and junior Vicky Dent was seventh, her top-seven debut in her first season with the team. She also joined Emily as the second Lake Forest alumni in the top seven.
Freshman Jen Lemke had a huge PR, dropping over a minute and twenty seconds to run 26:54. Sophomore Anastasia Rodriguez and senior Hannah Behle finished within a second of each other for strong season debuts and freshman Riley Maloney made her collegiate racing debut.
The club’s performances wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help of several club parents. Thank you to the Ripolls, Brindises, Shims, Condics, Frintners, O’Neils and Dents for hosting and feeding IXC on Friday night before the meet. Special thanks to the Frintners, Condics and Kennedys for hosting team members before an early morning of volunteering at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. A shout-out is also due to all of the supporters who came up to Kenosha to cheer on the team, we greatly appreciate the support.
Parkside marks the final race of the regular season for the club. Postseason NIRCA competition begins with the Great Plains Regional Championships on Sunday, October 23 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. IXC will toe the line against all-club competition for the first time this season. After Regionals, IXC will head to Hershey, Pennsylvania for the NIRCA National Championships on Saturday, November 12.
