There’s just nothing quite like deep October Cross Country, is there? Warm sweaters, cold mornings warming to perfect race time temperatures, and of course, REGIONALS!! Last weeked, IXC made their way to Geneva, Illinois and the (in)famous Northwestern Medicine Course to race the NIRCA Great Plains Regional race, the last stop on the journey to Nationals. It was a spectacular weekend filled with road trips and team bonding that culminated in some great successes despite the adversity along the way. Both of our teams brought silverware back to Champaign for the ever growing collection from this season, with our women’s team securing a 2nd place finish and the men’s side grabbing the gold. Some gutsy performances made it possible, so let’s get into it!
The Northwestern Medicine Course is a particularly hilly course with a fair share of expletives being muttered (yelled) when runners encounter the hill on the back half. This however, didn’t seem to slow down the hill-loving Diane Makovic as she battled her way to a 23:35.6 and 2nd place! Emma Bergmann also snagged herself a medal running 25:13.6 as she continues a great freshman season (the long course gripes continue). Claire Casiello fought through a tough middle of the race and sickness using the power of caffeine and consistent training to finish in 25:43.6. Evelyn Rowan and Madam President Maddy Feehan ran well together, finishing strong and close. They ran 26:33.1 and 26:33.9 respectively and locked up the 2nd place trophy for our women. Alyson Ficca was right behind them, running 26:40.6 even though she was battling a cold. Anna Zlatic completed the women’s top 7, coming through in a solid 27:21.9. Next up was Bridget Brokaw, who pushed through the hills to finish in 27:33.4 with a nice effort after a bit of time off racing. Lauren Brunk continued to settle back into racing and did so well, running 28:28.5! Suhani Peramanu ran her first 6k with the women’s team, running 29:09.3 in a good debut race. Lauren Bartels battled shin pain and the vertical nature of the course for a good race that ended up with a 29:53.6 (if you factor in the extra course length, she beat her typically metronome-like regionals performances). Mikeelie Jensen took a break from schooling the youth to school the competition, running 30:52.5 in this senior’s last Regionals meet. Allison Kokal grabbed herself a PR on the toughest course we’ll run this season, which is mighty impressive. She ran a 31:30.6. Elizabeth Coats kept it consistent, running 32:19.8. On a course where plenty of runners were much slower than their Augustana performance, Liz should be proud of that kind of effort. Christina Li was right behind Liz, running 32:26.9 in an impressive season PR! Reiss Christensen got in on the action as well, finishing in 32:43.8 for another season’s best! Laine Hackmann turned in a strong effort, coming through the finish in 33:01.9. Anna Winnicki put a bow on a great day for the women’s team, closing them out with a 37:27.3! The women all set the bar high for the day, pushing themselves in a hard race and were rewarded for their hard work with a 2nd place trophy! I can’t wait to see them compete at Nationals!
With the standard set high by the women, the men’s team took the course soon after. In his first race and only this season, Bram Osterhout showed out by running a 26:42.7 and locking up 1st place. Ethan Forsell showed he meant business in sunglasses and a headband as he cruised to a 26:52.9 finish and a slightly heavier neck. Eldon Warner took a quick break from thespianism to race for us, running a 26:55.6 (though he looked a little odd). Coach Spencer Nelson earned himself a big steak by running a speedy 27:14.2 on the day. Adam Gorcyca cruised to a 27:45.5 finish and was followed by Thomas Harmon, who ran a strong 28:00.7. John Wiser was our 7th man, making a good effort despite sickness for a 28:02.6 finish. Mikey Smart ran a great race, finishing in 28:52.9. Cade Baker fueled his 28:55.1 with the annoyance of being a Home Meet Coordinator that has no meet to coordinate (Shoutout NIRCA). John Burns managed to shake off some rough weeks of training to run an impressive 29:24.2. Arthur Mazzeo followed closely behind him, running a 29:26.9 season PR. Nolan Enright kept it rolling, coming through in 29:33.2. Kyle Kenmotsu battled for a nice 29:56.2. In a crowded straightaway, Cadyn Grafton surged for a 30:02.0 finish. Norb Nieves was close behind, securing himself a 30:04.9 after a consistent race. Philip Hu took the hills hard and fought his way to a strong 30:24.0. Alex Kogen, Adam Lupatkin, and Leyang Zhang all finished with each other, finishing in a tight pack with 30:27.2, 30:28.0, and 30:29.7 respectively. Coming off of a successful Chicago Marathon was resident old man Daniel Engel, running his first IXC race since 2019. I was still a freshman then! Dengel ran a good race however, coming through in 30:34.4. Simon Hildy was next for the men, finishing strong for a time of 30:46.6. Jordan Wilkerson continued an impressive freshman season, running a 31:00.8. Gabriel Inojosa traded out his multi-tool for a spike wrench, lacing up his spikes for a time of 31:05.2. Yuki Mizuno was in a small group of runners who managed a PR on such a tough course, besting his previous time by over 2 minutes(!!) with a 31:18.2 finish. Quinn Born was next, competing well to earn himself a 31:25.0. Aidan Markiewicz matched his Augustana time almost exactly, running a nice 31:39.2. Aidan Farrell made big moves throughout the race, passing people on his way to a time of 31:40.7. James Stanley picked a hell of a race to be his debut with the team, but he ran well and snagged a 31:52.9 finish. Isaac Schifferer is a sick man because he loved the hills, cruising over them for a strong time of 32:05.3. Delivering for the Irish where Notre Dame football cannot, Patrick Tallon ran a good race for a time of 32:12.6. Andrew Stevenson looked handsome as ever as he shrugged off the hills for a time of 32:17.5. Henry Hornbrook gave the hills a better fight than the Yankees gave the Astros as he finished in 32:31.9, though the Big Hand Man made his displeasure with the elevation known during the race. Nick Kwentus looked strong as he made his way through the finish line in 32:56.7. Tristan Taylor (Hey! I know that guy!) struggled his way through a course seemingly custom made to include his least favorite conditions for a 33:18.0 finish, but is looking for a big bounceback at Nationals. Gabe Benson did what he had to do to get some Portillo’s, accomplishing his task in 33:49.5. John Bledsoe was the next man through, getting himself across the line in a nice 34:16.6. Joseph Kuang pushed past some illness and ran a 35:00.2 to be proud of. Thomas Tran was the Little Engine That Could, chugging across the line in 35:11.5. Nathaniel Lenning left it all on the course, wrapping his year with a 35:25.5 <3. Dhruva Chowlur ran his first 8k this season, finishing in 36:00.9. Luckily for him, not many courses will be as tough as this. Brennan Taylor fought hard for a 38:07.5, making the battalion proud with his effort. And last, but certainly not least, was Ryan McClowry, also making his debut and running a good 39:06.8!
On the whole, it was another great race day in a season full of them. Even if you ran a race that you’re not happy with, you should be proud of the effort you displayed on a tough course that beat almost everyone down. On top of that, Regionals is not our last stop. Nationals is just around the corner and with it comes another opportunity to put the finishing touches on a season to remember. This has been one of my favorite seasons of my running career and none of this would be possible without all of you guys. It has been my pleasure to see us grow as teammates and competitors throughout the fall and I cannot wait to see it on display one last time.
With love,
Tristan <3
P.S. It was great to see so many IXC alumni at the race, big shoutouts to Jeffrey Hesselbein and Cody Lund! And congratulations to former IXC runners who competed well for their current programs, Grace Gudwien, Muneeb Ansari, and Leonel Rodriguez!