NIRCA Nationals: Don’t Sleep on the Big Dogs

Ladies and Gentlemen, the season has officially come to a close. It’s been a wild ride, with lots of highs, a few lows, but overall it’s been a pivotal season for this club. For nationals this year, we travelled with 62 total club members, eight of whom were spectators. If I can do basic math, that means 54 men and women went out there and left it all on the course in a capstone race to close out their seasons. Take a seat, grab some popcorn, and prepare for a recap of the best weekend of the fall season, it’s a long one. I hope this reflection brings you joy, laughs, or maybe even a few tears (the good kind) and that you all enjoy my final writeup as your webmaster. Let’s get into it!

Race 1: Teamwork and Friendship Headline the First Race of the Day

The day was kicked off in the best way possible, with a super group of six ladies taking to the course in the women’s junior-senior-grad race. This group of six ladies have been consistently practicing and racing all season, and have really made their mark on this club and everyone around them. For many of them, this was their last cross country race for the club, and it won’t be the same without their wisdom and leadership. It’s a huge pleasure to have each and every one of you as teammates and friends. Before the race, Maddy Feehan asked me how fast I thought she could run. I told her 26:40. She was skeptical, and thought I was overestimating her. Turns out it was quite the contrary as her 26:35 earned her 16th place, just outside of All-American status in her field. Let’s get you healthy so you can crush some fast times on the track. Gabriela Aguilar-Ripley closed the last straightaway with some wheels to run 27:43, just outside of her official PR on a long course. What a way to finish the race and season! Coming through next was Zoe Jacquat who raced hard and worked with teammates around her to dip under 28 in 27:54. Zoe played a huge role in this awesome group of women who all worked together throughout the race. She was followed closely by Natalie Maguire who closed off her dream season with a really strong time of 27:56. Although it’s not a PR, which she’s set in every other race this season, the long course is partially to blame and she should absolutely be proud of all her progress this year. MaryBeth Feeley came through next in 28:03. During the nationals raps, MaryBeth was unroastable and only received compliments, which is exactly what she deserves. Congrats on a great season. Rounding out the first race of the day was Lauren Bartels, who ran 28:43 for her fastest time of the season, an awesome result on the long course. Thank you for all your leadership this year on the club and for all the times you’ve helped me do these writeups. We couldn’t have made this season happen without you. This race was super fun to watch, as all these women were super close together during the race and showed some awesome teamwork. It was a great way to set the tone for the day.

Race 2: Old Big Dogs Learned Some New Tricks

The second race of the day was the men’s junior-senior-grad race, where the biggest of the big dogs took to the course. These upperclassmen races are always special, since it is often the last cross country race for the club for many of the people racing. This leads to big cheering just off the course and a whole lot of fun and making the most of the experience on it. As with the ladies, it’s been a pleasure to partake in this season with all of you, and you’ve all been great teammates. Leading the way for this race was team JV athlete Cade Baker who had one of the grittiest and fastest finishing kicks I’ve ever seen in an attempt to snag the last NIRCA paper in 15th place. He barely got outkicked by a real speedster and finished in 16th place with a time of 27:23.4, just off his PR on a very long course. How the tables have turned. He was followed by Spencer Nelson who had a solid race despite a busy day of coaching and handing out bibs. Spencer ran 27:41 to finish just inside the top 25. His coaching and leadership really made this season what it was, and led to tons of development and PRs on the team. You deserve a pat on the back, my friend. The next finisher was Alex Kogen who took the weekend off of being a full time Gies College of Business Student to blow off some steam by racing. Kogen ran 28:30, a great time for this long course. Rumor has it, he may be returning for grad school, so this may not be the last you see of this old brick collector. Finishing just a bit back was Jordan Meyer who ran 28:36 for his fastest race of the season. What is this club going to be without a Meyer brother. Not the same, that’s for sure. Jacob Fleck ran an official PR of 28:37 on this long course, finishing right with Jordan. You’ve earned a nice couple rounds of DnD to reward yourself for that awesome effort. Arthur Mazzeo ran 29:10 and deserves a nice break from running after running a marathon and a full cross country season. I’m glad you stuck around post marathon to train with us. Max Hartmann was right behind in 29:28 for a big improvement from regionals. It’s been great to see you return to running after a couple years off, stick with it! Club legend Liam Bots took a break from his usual tom-foolery to run 30:16 for his best time this season. Go help the environment with that CEE degree. Justin Baysore had a huge performance, running a PR of 30:47. I know it’s getting to be a bit of a broken record, but running a PR on this long course is a fantastic result. Vignesh Ravibaskar was feeling the hurt during his race, but held it together to run 31:19. Vig was only in this race due to a bit of sneaky number fudging, as he is actually in his second semester here and has a lot more running ahead of him. Tristan Taylor earned his promotion out of the open race and ran a season’s best time of 32:12. Congrats on filling out your paperwork this time, keep having fun with it next year. Beau Barber learned a thing or two about the cross country experience on this trip, and other than the painful race, he gave it a pretty stellar review. Always good to hear from the old track man. He ran a PR of 32:55, just sneaking under 33. Issac Shifferer took a break from beating up on the track team in sand volleyball to run an awesome time of 33:50, a season’s best time. Another man who is mostly track specific is Jacob Rubin who took a break from running mid distance to race an 8k. He ran 34:07.5 (decimal is important later) and looks to build on his fitness in track. The final finisher in this race for the Illini was John Feeley who ran a super fast time of 35:24 since he was running away from Stephanie Bartley who was attempting to arrest him for his NIRCA crimes. All jokes aside, congrats on an awesome career for the club Feeley! To those sticking around next year, continue leading this team in the ways you have been, and I hope you all enjoy whatever running you have left to do for the club. To those who raced their last cross country race for the club, you will be missed, and all your contributions are greatly appreciated. Thank you for everything you’ve done, you’ve all made this club better. 

Race 3: The Women of IXC Teach us all how to Overcome Adversity

As the clock struck twelve, the atmosphere of the meet started to shift. It was time for the championship racing to begin. NIRCA is incredibly unique in that it has an extremely high level of competition while still maintaining the light-hearted fun atmosphere that should come along with being a part of a club. The dancing, cheering, and all around good time on the sidelines of the course accompanied by racing at a level as good and sometimes beyond high level collegiate programs really highlights this balance. As the women did their final runouts, the atmosphere took a slight shift towards a bit more of a serious mood. It was time to throw down. 

Brisa McGrath put a big, fat exclamation point on her fantastic season with a statement performance to secure an all-American 22nd place in a time of 23:29, a solid PR, and on a long course too. This is a significant improvement from her performance freshman year, as she proved that she belongs with the best of them when it comes to high level racing. What a great way to represent the team and lead the rest of our ladies. Up next was Mikeelie Jensen, who had yet another really strong performance for a time of 25:53. It may not have been everything she hoped for, but you can always count on Mikeelie to leave it all out there, and that’s exactly what she did. This team couldn’t ask for anything more. Keep up with the grind, and the improvements will come soon! After a disappointing race at nationals in 2019, Brianna Legner felt as though she was graduating and leaving the club on a low note. Little did she know, she would later choose to return to grad school here and get another shot. This season has been pretty incredible for her, as she’s set numerous PRs and broke into the top 7. She closed out this season with a race to remember, running a big PR of 26:11. You have a lot to be proud of this year, what a big personal victory. Maggie Abbs was the next athlete to finish, running a time of 26:42, which is a PR over her race from Augustana by one second, which means a lot more considering the long course. Maggie has really established herself as a leadership figure on the club this year, and really showed her commitment to the club. I’m sure that will continue in the future. Up next was Wilma Rishko who ran a time of 27:15 to close out the scoring five for the ladies. She’s really made an impact on the team in her two years here, especially as a consistent presence during the challenging times due to COVID last year. Bridget Brokaw ran a time of 27:35 as she continues to increase her involvement with the team. It’s been great to see her racing these last few meets of the season and really fitting in well with those around her, and just being a positive presence all around. Closing out the top seven was Katherine Vande Pol who lived up to her reputation as a superwoman by racing in the championship race despite being fresh off of a pretty serious injury. Not only that, but Kat is also a specialist in the 400/800 on the track, and the 6k distance is longer than her preferred racing distance. She still went out and left it all out there, and looks forward to getting back to her preferred racing distances in track. As said in the title, these women have overcome some extreme challenges, including losing one of the best runners right before the meet. They were thrown many curveballs throughout the season, and were able to overcome each one as they came. Congrats on a great season!

Race 4: The Boys are Back on the Podium

As the seven men chosen to represent IXC in the championship race warmed up, expectations were high. Led by arguably the fastest distance runner in club history, and followed by a strong supporting cast, several with all American potential, everyone on the club knew we had a shot. However, from the view of NIRCA, this team was a bit of an unknown quantity. Based solely on regional results, our times and team average time simply didn’t stack up to the likes of Michigan, Pitt, or Northeastern. The men of IXC set out to change the script and show everyone what we are capable of. Here’s how it went down.

As expected, Eldon Warner stuck his mustache right in it and ran right on the shoulder of the leader for the entire race with the goal of bringing home the individual title. He ran the best cross country race of his career, matching his PR of 24:45 on a long course and securing a hard fought second place to an extremely talented Pitt athlete. That’s the best individual finish of any IXC man in history at the national meet, and set the tone for a great day. Bram Osterhout was our next finisher, running a huge PR of 25:37 and securing first-team all-American honors with a 12th place finish, by far his best finish at the national meet. An incredible performance from an extremely tough runner. Coming in closely behind Bram was Stephen Barretto, who had one of his best ever performances on the grass, running 25:49 on the long course for 18th place. How about that for a stellar freshman year! Stephen walks away from this season with all-American status and one of the best ever nationals performances from a freshman on the club. The next athlete to cross the finish line was clutch performer of the day Justin Ostrem. Justin was the only returner from the top seven at 2019 nationals, and his experience showed in a masterful race, working up through the field the entire time into 36th place with a finishing time of 26:10. Will Gravelle rallied late in the race to close out the scoring five in a time of 26:48 for 73rd place. Will has toughed out a hard few weeks post-marathon and came through with the performance the team needed to secure third place as a team with 140 points, behind champions Northeastern and second place Michigan. Following up to close out the top seven was yours truly, Jeffrey Hesselbein, and John Wiser, running 27:19 and 27:21. Sometimes in running, it just isn’t your day, and that was the case for both of us. It’s an unfortunate time for that to happen, but there’s a reason there’s seven runners and not just five. Part of being on a team is stepping up and doing the hard work when a teammate is struggling, in workouts and races. This top seven has exchanged good and bad days all year, with different guys stepping up in each race and workout. The championship race was no different. Going in, we knew in order to get a trophy Justin, John or I would have to step up and score low points as one of the top 5. Justin came through when John and I couldn’t, and played a critical role in the day’s performance. This was the men’s team’s first trophy since 2014, and on a personal note, I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this group, both from a running standpoint and just because you all are awesome people. I’m really going to miss this next year.

Race 5: C-L-A—I-R-E

The penultimate race of the day was the women’s fresh-soph race, where the young guns duke it out over 6k. An unfortunate series of injuries and time conflicts led to the one and only Claire Casiello being the only athlete to compete in this race for the Illini. It’s ok, you get a whole paragraph to yourself and all the attention, so that’s a plus. Claire had her best race of the season, breaking through a bit of a racing barrier she had hit during the rest of the season. She ran a time of 27:12, 48 seconds faster than her previous PR on a long course. She showed some real toughness, moving up throughout the race and closing hard. Congrats on a great close to a great season, and thanks for representing the club well in this race.

Race 6: The Fresh-Soph Guys Knows how to Have Fun

Last, but surely not least, was the men’s fresh-soph race. This group consists of 18 of the most committed and enthusiastic members of the club, and they sure went out there and showed it, with some of the most enjoyable races to watch of the day. These guys are off to a great start with their club careers, and I’m looking forward to watching your progress from afar over the next few years. Kicking it off with a bang was Quinn Born, who hit his racing stride at just the right time, running by far his best race of the season in 26:59 on the long course for 7th overall, securing NIRCA paper. All while rushing a frat! Way to go! Behind him was future clubhaus boy Cadyn Grafton who paid the price for his fast start in a painful race, finishing in 28:06, a strong time for this course. He’s got a solid base going into the track season, where he is much more at home and looks to make a huge impact. My favorite race of the day to watch was Kyle Kenmotsu, who closed off his season with his strongest race yet in 28:26, slightly off his PR but comparatively better on the long course. Kyle had fun out there, playing to the crowd, and taking “reeling in the competition” to a whole new level. Keep up the good work! John Burns ran a PR of 28:41, and is another member of this group that is more suited to track. His base is strong and his dedication will carry him to be very impactful this spring. Up next was Aaron Lyubanski who closed out his season by achieving his goal of sub-29 in a time of 28:59! Talk about cutting it close, great work! Another future clubhaus member in Jack Mason finished next, running a time of 29:06 after fighting achilles problems and a busy schedule all season. With good health and a consistent practice schedule, he’ll be making his mark soon enough. Phillip Hu’s hard work this summer paid off as he ran two consecutive PRs in his last two races, closing this last one with a time of 29:14. Let’s see how much time he can drop this spring! Jason Palafox closed out his season with a PR of 29:28, a great time on this course. Mid-D will soon be blessed by Jason’s presence as he rejoins them for the spring season. Nolan Enright flashed the O for O-Block during the race, hyping up the crowd as he ran by. He ran a time of 29:39 to close off a great season as he established himself as a staple member of the club. Alex Wang was next, smiling throughout the race and moving up, running 30:13, almost a full minute PR. It was awesome to see him race with us these last two races, and hopefully we will be seeing more in the future. The next finisher was Vijay Shah who showed some extreme toughness to hold on to a hot pace for a fast time of 31:36. It was a tough season fighting off injuries, yet Vijay still pulled through for an awesome closing race. Griffin Rhode appeared to have his most fun experience in a race so far, running a huge PR of 31:58. That’s 35 seconds faster than regionals, what a great performance! Two more huge PRs back to back were Charley Hoppis and Nathaniel Lenning, running 33:49 and 33:54 respectively. Both of these guys have been super consistent and it’s paying off, as they have seen huge improvements on the course. Let’s see that carry through to track. Tom Bleasdale had one goal: run faster than Jake Rubin. His time of 34:07.4 was one tenth of a second faster than Jake’s time. And I thought Aaron cut it close with his goal. Good job Tom. Gabe Benson had his game face on and ate up the field the entire race, running a huge PR of 34:13 in one of the best performances of the day. All that hard work paid off for sure, congratulations! Up next was everyone’s favorite troop Brennan Taylor, who battled for a time of 34:23. You’ve made the brigade proud. Closing out the day was James Meadows, who sure knows how to close down a show. He ran yet another PR of 37:14 to close out an awesome season where he ran a PR in every(!!!) race. What a fun way to close out the best day to be an Illini. The future is bright!

The Final Farewell

Before giving my final thoughts, we had several people give up their weekends just to support their teammates. Special thanks to Bryan Himmel, Thomas Tran, Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan, Grace Gudwien, Lauren Brunk, Norb Nieves, Laine Hackmann, and Gabriel Inojosa for showing what it means to be good teammates, even when you can’t race. And an even more special thanks to Thomas and Bryan for handling all the logistics of this trip, it isn’t easy to coordinate a weekend getaway for a group of over 60 college students. Make sure to thank them if you haven’t. Thanks for sticking with this writeup until the end here. I know it’s long, but I wanted to make sure I covered a piece of everyone’s story. For those of you who, like me, are heading off to the real world next year, best of luck and thank you for your contributions to the team! For those of you who will be sticking around next year, I’m proud to pass the torch on to a group that I am extremely thankful to call teammates. I think back to something Muneeb said after racing with us at the first meet, that I also mentioned in the writeup. He said, “Love how IXC is always the same song, just different band members. Beautiful group.” Keep doing what you do, and I hope I’ve served the team well and done my part to play that song. See you on the track.

Love,

Jeffrey <3