IXC was back in action on Friday for our second meet of the year at the Olivet Nazarene Tiger Invitational. Following some fantastic performances last week at Aurora, expectations were high and so were the temperatures. Near 90ºF temperatures made for jungle-like conditions, and while many thrived, a few casualties were incurred on the course due to both the weather and residual sickness that’s been spreading through our weakened post-COVID immune systems. Despite the adversity, there were again many standout performances and the meet was an all-around good time. Also, as the season progresses, more and more runners are hungry for some racing, so there were many season debuts this week and an all around good turnout on both the men’s and women’s side. Let’s go through and see how everyone did!
It was ladies first out on the course once again, with the women racing a very familiar 5k distance this week instead of the usual 6k. This distance is always a fun one to race, and is reminiscent of the old high school cross country days, where most of our team, being from Illinois, raced the three mile. This week, with many people recovered from the bout of back-to-school sickness, had a much better turnout for the women, with 13 speedy ladies taking to the course. Leading the way this week was the talented speedster Brisa McGrath who hasn’t been doing too many workouts, but showed just how far her base training can get her with a 13th place overall finish. Closely behind was senior superstar Grace Gudwien with a 15th place finish and 5k PR on the grass. The next runner for the Illini was Mikeelie Jensen, blocking out the haters and the sun with some race-day shades, finishing strong for 38th place overall. Wilma Rishko was fast on the track this spring and fast on the grass in her IXC racing debut, finishing in 47th place. Right behind was Kelly Bickhart who got out hard and fought through the pain for a 50th place finish, closing out the scorers for the Illini. The women’s team achieved a very strong 4th place finish as a team, and were just 5 points away from 2nd place. Just goes to show, every point counts. Overall, the women are on an upward trend, improving from last week. Things are looking up!
Brianna Legner “wanted to run under 24 minutes.” She ran under 24, and under 23, and under 22 for a finish in 21:41. In her first race back from a long term injury, social coordinator and JuCo long snapper (2 star recruit) Maddy Feehan ran a super fast time in 21:50. Running her debut race was freshman Claire Casiello who raced well for a time of 22:09 and is looking forward to more races with the team! The nice twin in the naughty/nice duo that is the Feeley twins MaryBeth Feeley crossed the line next, right with freshman Laine Hackmann, in quick times of 22:21 for each of them. Up next was a duo of grad students: Natalie Maguire and Kim Westfall running right at 22:30. Natalie deserves a special shoutout as she ran a PR by 2(!) minutes. That’s a pretty astounding time drop, well done Natalie! Rounding out the women was GMC and D1 long snapper (5 star recruit) Lauren Bartels. She ran 23:26 for a PR on the grass in the 5k, despite some tough weeks with on and off sickness. Great racing out there ladies!
The women gave the men a tough act to follow, and the boys once again came through. Following a 1st place finish last week, expectations were high, even without a few of our top runners. Also, with our sights set on November 6th, many of our runners have been training hard and racing on tired legs. That being said, there are absolutely no excuses to be made, and fitness on tired legs is better than no fitness on fresh legs. The men went out there and proved that on Friday. Once again coming through first for the Illini and 5th overall was freshman phenom Stephen Barretto, who is quickly emerging as one to watch when championship season rolls around. Sawyer Madell, like last week, got out hard and paid the price, but it seems like this is a very successful tactic for him, as he improved his overall finish, achieving 7th place and running ~30s faster than last week. Coming in as the third finisher for the Illini was yours truly, Jeffrey Hesselbein, in 12th place overall. A very strong finish and a slight time improvement from last week, although not quite the time I wanted. Closely following and closing hard was another member of the star-studded freshman squad Cadyn Grafton in 16th place overall. A very good debut for him with a lot to build upon. Cade Baker came in prepared and executed perfectly, just like his trainer said, for another lifetime PR, first ever top 5 finish, and 17th place overall. He is having a season to remember, and with a lot of training still to be done, it looks like the best is yet to come. The Illini top 5 put in some very good performances and beat a lot of strong collegiate programs, but the Tigers at home in their own jungle proved to be too much for the big dogs to handle. We walk away from this meet with heads held high, having secured a dominant second place finish to a very good Olivet Nazarene team.
Arthur Mazzeo came to the meet to run a tune-up race as part of the closing stages of training for the Milwaukee marathon and walked away with his first ever top 7 finish and a lifetime PR. Marathon fitness is an incredible thing. Alex Kogen ran another really good race to close out the top 7 in 41st place and finish off an exceptional start to the season. Close behind him was Nolan Enright improving significantly from last week with a 44th place finish. Quinn Born has bricks for calves and fought through some more tightness for a solid race to finish in 57th place. Finishing their debut races in the 8k were Aaron Lyubansky and Clubhaus pledge Jason Palafox in 68th and 71st places, respectively. Grad student Seth Westfall and mid-d man Jacob Rubin also ran their IXC debut races, ran together, and crushed it with 104th and 108th places respectively. Clubhaus member and local Urbana troublemaker John Feeley was next, toughing out the conditions for a solid 116th place. Closing out the day for the Illini were Charley Hoppis in his second race and ITFC track star from last spring Gabe Benson debuting on the grass, finishing in 119th and 121st places, respectively.
It was another successful and super fun meet out there for the squad, and it’s been a good introduction to racing early in the season. Next in the schedule for IXC is the Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invite on October 1st to kick off spooky season. Until then, we will be back out on our runs, putting in the mileage, and doing some hard workouts as we prepare for championship season, which will be coming around in a little over a month!
Flat and fast but oh so hot,
IXC decided to give another race a shot.
The women this time only had 5000 meters,
And they put on a show good enough for the theaters.
Debuts, PR’s, and everything in between,
All of our women raced like queens.
The men also ran strong and free,
Showing just how tough they really can be.
They gave it their all and each had a great race,
Earning the team a well-deserved second place!
As we train for now back in Urbana,
We’ll see you soon at Augustana.