Aurora Spartan Classic: The Big Dogs are Back in Town

It’s been a long two years, folks. The last time we ran a cross country race as a club was a full 664 days ago. We saw two classes graduate, and two classes join the club. It’s certainly been an interesting 664 days, filled with new challenges and lots of adversity. Yet here we are, back out on the course, doing the same thing this club has always done. Having fun and racing hard. Here’s some of the highlights from our first meet back in action!

This year’s Aurora Spartan Classic looked a bit different from previous years. In the past, we raced at Oakhurst Forest Preserve, on a very flat, fast course that would yield fast times and encouraging results. This year, the race was held at the Northwestern Medicine Cross Country Course. The board had no idea what to expect for this course, and we were certainly hoping for more fast times and good results, especially for our newcomers in their first 6k or 8k race. We were instead greeted with one of the more challenging cross country courses that I’ve personally ran on. Rolling hills throughout, and every bit of 6k or 8k and then some. If you raced, I encourage you to look back and reflect on how you competed and felt, rather than the time next to your name. If you had a good day, awesome! If you left the meet feeling a bit down in the dumps, keep your head up and look forward to the meets to come, where there will be ample opportunities for fast times.

As per usual tradition, ladies were first out on the course. We had 5 women compete out there, which is definitely lower than our usual turnout, yet still enough to score as a team. It was a tough week with heavy schoolwork and a lot of sickness going around, so most of the team was unable to make it out for this week’s meet. If you haven’t raced or come to a meet to spectate, I strongly encourage you to ask the ladies who were there at the meet about their experience. I promise you, even if you are new to running, or not confident in your fitness, that the whole meet experience is worth it. Just talk to those who were there, and take it from them. 

Leading the charge out there for the ladies was Grace Gudwien, picking up right where  she left off two years ago. She ran a gutsy race to finish 7th overall, an outstanding performance for her. Following behind her was the dynamic duo of Maggie Abbs and Kelly Bickhart, finishing 24th and 25th, respectively. These two were both racing their first ever 6k, and ran like lifelong teammates and experts at the distance, working together throughout the race to achieve a great result, both placing in the top 25! Up next was Clare Oehler, who seems to be always enjoying herself and smiling out on the course as she races. She was able to race really well despite feeling sick and picked up a 33rd place overall finish. Rounding out the women was Gender Minority Captain Lauren Bartels, who had a solid day out there, racing for a 44th place overall finish while “enjoying the challenge of the hills,” as she says. These ladies toughed out the challenging conditions for a 5th place finish as a team, despite lots of last minute dropouts due to sickness or schoolwork. Major kudos to them for getting out there and racing really well!

The men’s race was up next. Coming off the back of a big recruiting summer, there were definitely a few standout freshmen and sophomores that were looking to have a big race. This has also historically been a race that the men have dominated from a team standpoint in prior years, so we were looking to keep that ball rolling. Crossing the finish line 2nd overall and first for the Illini was freshman superstar Stephen Barretto. From the beginning of the race, Stephen made a decisive bid to win the meet, although he came up just short, he gave us a taste of what he’s capable of and set the tone for a big day. Following up next was the duo of veteran Justin Ostrem and his new apprentice Sawyer Madell, taking 7th and 8th respectively. Sawyer is another standout freshman who got out hard in a real gutsy race, and definitely learned that the 8k is a pretty long distance to run. Justin, with his experience, was a bit more calculated, and caught Sawyer around 6k into the race, and they worked together into the finish. Shortly behind them was a terrific triad of Jeffrey Hesselbein, John Wiser, and head coach Spencer Nelson, finishing in 10th, 11th, and 12th place, respectively. These three pushed the pace hard in the middle miles, picking off runners who got out too hard, moving from places 25-30th at the first mile to 10-12th at the finish. This big move was also a decisive moment in the team race, as these three passed all but two MSOE runners, who were in pole position to win the meet early into the race. Putting five runners in between their second and third runner sealed the team victory for the Illini, taking home a sweet plaque and achieving big dog status.

Cade Baker had himself a day, running a lifetime PR on a course that is definitely not made to PR on, and achieving a 19th overall finish, closing out the top 7 for this meet. Former treasurer Alex Kogen was next, finishing 28th overall in a very strong performance for him. Kyle Kenmotsu has been putting in work and mileage and it showed, as he looked real strong to finish in 31st place. Right behind him was Quinn Born who battled the challenging course and a whole lot of calf tightness to finish in 37th place, which is a good spot for him to build from. The next group of finishers for the Illini ran as a pack, and definitely learned some lessons in their first ever 8k race. Sophomore stud John Burns, GLR legend Vignesh Ravibaskar, and Pop Smoke fanboy Nolan Enright all finished in a row, in 68th, 69th, and 70th place. Keep an eye out for these boys, they are just getting started. Norb Nieves raced through quite a bit of adversity, and didn’t get the result he wanted with an 88th place finish, but when he’s healthy, look out. He’s got a lot in the tank. Rounding out our finishers were Charley Hoppis and James Meadows who raced really well for 111th and 115th place respectively. Nathaniel Lenning battled severe stomach problems for 4 miles, running really well, before having to step off to deal with that. Mad respect for putting in the effort despite feeling how he felt. Like I said earlier, this course was very challenging and slow, so in this writeup I am choosing to focus on how people raced, rather than times. If you want to see times, the results are linked on the “Race Schedule” page. 

Finally I’d like to mention a couple of club alumni who came out and raced as part of their marathon training programs, Leonel Rodriguez and former club president Muneeb Ansari. It’s always a pleasure to have a few club legends come out and race with us. I’d also like to mention the huge group of team members who took time out of their day to drive to the meet, watch, and cheer on their teammates. Bryan Himmel, Tristan Taylor, Mikeelie Jensen, Liam Bots, Tommy Gulumian, Maggie Kosterman, Maddy Feehan, Clara O’Sullivan, Cadyn Grafton, Connor Flynn, Thomas Tran, Lauren Brunk and Jack Mason all made the trip to cheer on their teammates and to get a taste of the meet day experience. Look out for them, as most of them will likely be racing in the coming weeks.

Towards the end of the meet, during the cooldown and after, I recall overhearing quite a few words of wisdom from people on the team that really sat with me. The first one was when I was cooling down with John Wiser, and we were coming up the hill and looking out over the sunset, and he made a comment about remembering to “take a mental picture.” I did both that, and took an actual picture. 

As I reflect on the meet I can’t help but think about how important it is to embrace the moment, take it all in, and “take mental pictures.” Which leads me into my next takeaway words of wisdom, which came from none other than Muneeb. In his race log, he wrote “Love how IXC is always the same song, just different band members. Beautiful group.” As the years have gone by for this club, this has certainly proven to be true. The song we play is one of fierce competition, accompanied by fiercer friendship. There’s a reason over a dozen people made the trip just to be there, and it’s all a part of being on a team like this. It’s really unlike any other team I’ve been on, and it’s a legacy that we as a group should all be proud to carry on. This band plays a beautiful song. See you next week at the Olivet Nazarene Midwest Intercollegiate Meet!

With Love,

Jeffrey <3