Thank you Anna Zlatic and all associated photographers for capturing our athletes in their element!
Welcome back to illinitrackclub.com, we are so glad you’re here. Today I am coming at you with a rundown (pun intended) of our most recent meet, the Irish Invitational. Hosted by Notre Dame and located at Madeline Bertrand County Park in Niles, Michigan, this meet was an exciting stop on our Tour de Midwest (you’re next, Iowa!!!) This was the second year ND has hosted the meet and IXC’s very first time participating, so our athletes were stoked to see what the day had in store. Coach E had described the course as wooded and flat, so hopes were high. Athlete turnout was pretty epic this weekend, especially with everyone’s legs likely still tired from their efforts at Auggie last weekend. A chill week of easy runs and a light speed session helped our runners recover and prepare for a pretty astonishing showing at this meet.
It was another early departure today (curse you Eastern Time). Luckily all of our dedicated athletes were tucked into bed by 8pm, with visions of morning runs dancing in their heads. People really showed out in the vehicle department, and we even had someone who was not even racing haul a couple athletes up north (THANK YOU Alexandria Pos!) From what I have heard, the drives were relatively uneventful, albeit slightly long. It was a gorgeously sunny morning for a cross country meet. The trees have begun to change, and the air feels crisper. You simply cannot beat fall cross country races!
Our ladies’ team was racing first, so they suited up quickly after arrival. They embarked on a quick warm up/ mini tour of the course. After getting their bearings and their blood flowing, it was time for the classic pre-race drills, strides, and huddle. The inspiring words from Coach E must have really lit a flame in each of our athletes, because the women of IXC took home an exciting FIRST PLACE FINISH! Hey @CRCoachesPoll, does this move us up a spot or two?? With just 26 points, the women absolutely blew the competition out of the water. Our athletes are straight up fierce. Finishing first for the women was senior Claire Casiello, who had yet another great race. She enjoyed the scenery and terrain, though she was slightly confused on how to navigate the new course. Regardless, she was excited the course was a true 6K, and she totally impressed me with her time of 24:07.1. Right after Claire was Joy Dudley, who placed third with a totally impressive time of 24:13.00. In 6th place was your president, Bridget Brokaw. Bridget’s hard work this season is beginning to pay off! She ran a super speedy 25:34.20. I can’t wait to see how the post season goes for miss Bkay! Up next was Lenny Sterritt. She has proven herself already as a powerful asset to the team. She ran a time of 25:50.70. Well done Lenny! Up next was the legendary Anna Jablonski. Jablonski proved to us all how much she loves cross country by showing up and showing out at this meet. She ran a time of 26:06.20. Great job TBJ. Up next was Suhani Peramanu. Suhani told me things just didn’t come together for this race, but that’s okay. Not every day is perfect! I am proud of her nonetheless. She finished in 26:51.00. Up next was Anna Zlatic. Anna cut lots of time from last week and finished with a time of 27:07:00. She said it even felt more like a tempo run! Right behind her was Alyson Ficca, who took a day off from her $10,000 road bike to remind herself how fun cross country is. She had a great race, finishing in a time of 27:35.30, even after not doing a workout for the last seven months. What a comeback! Finishing with Alyson was Sophia Libman, who I somehow see running every single day. Even just a hello from Sophia is enough to brighten anyone’s day! She ran an impressive 27:35.60. Up next was Hannah Madla, who has steadily shaved time off her 6K each week. She finished the race in 28:10.00. Sub 28 at regionals! Next up was Lia Tondeva, who finished in 30:33.30. Lia always has a great attitude about running. Behind Lia was the birthday girl, Mira Bhimani! Mira cut a whole minute off from last week, finishing in 31:12.90. What an awesome way to spend your birthday!!!!! Lastly for the women was Piper Rieger, who also cut many minutes off from last weekend and finished with a super speedy time of 34:56.60 Well done ladies! This was such a standout day for many of our athletes. To perform this well on a tricky course and with a small field of competitors is truly remarkable. I can’t wait to see what Regionals holds for us!
Onto the men’s race. I feel it is appropriate to address the unfortunate truth: the course was short. Like, notably short. See Mikey, it happens to the best of us. By the looks of it, this was closer to a 7.5K race, but honestly that last half kilometer must really suck, so we are better off omitting it. On top of that, a winding course led to Illinois’ very own Henry Hornbrook leading a pack slightly further astray. Luckily everyone with him was kind, understanding, and polite in their retellings of the race on Strava. Regardless, cross country isn’t really about times or distances, but rather placement and competitiveness. And compete, we did. It was a double header for IXC, with the men’s team also taking home the FIRST PLACE FINISH. Are you kidding me?? I couldn’t be prouder to be a member of this awesome group of athletes.
Let’s dive into individual performances. Finishing first both in the race and on the team, was our superstar coach, Ethan Forsell. Seriously Ethan, save some for the rest of us. Jokes aside, he has been crushing it this season and finally broke the third place curse. Ethan finished with a time of 24:37.70. Right after Ethan was the iconic Percy Moser, finishing in 24:55.50. This was Percy’s first meet of the 2024 season, and he reminded everyone just how strong he is. Finishing closely behind him was Sam Lambert, who has continued to impress us with his speed and competitiveness. Sam finished in 25:01.70, receiving third place. Continuing in the slew of IXC finishers, up next was Easton Rosen in fourth place. Though he said he may have had something left in the tank (I bet everyone did since the course was short), he still put up a great effort today, working with the pack and beating the first Notre Dame finisher by under a second. Easton’s time was 25:11.60. Rounding out our top 5 today was Isaac Moss. He finished right behind Easton and the ND runner, with a time of 25:13.30. After him was another pack of three more IXC men. First was Maxwell Maloney, who placed 7th with a time of 25:50.60. Next was Thomas Harmon who finished in 25:54.30. Simon Hildy was up next. He had a fun race and finished in 25:55.80. After Simon was Albert Szewczyk, who definitely accomplished his goal of cutting a few more minutes off. We’ll call it a win. Albert’s time was 26:12.60 and he was the last of our team to finish in the top 10. Though these times aren’t necessarily regulation, 9 guys out of the top 10 is 100% legit. Good stuff. Up next was Jensen Bidmead, who was not a huge fan of the course layout and also fell victim to the wrong turn. Though the conditions were not ideal, Jensen still made the best of it and finished in 27:11.70. Just a few seconds behind Jensen was freshman Mauricio Marin, who finished with an impressive time of 27:17.10. Also in that pack was Giovanni Hernandez, who finished with a time of 27:21.10. Zach Coren crossed the line next, with a final time of 27:37.90. Zach beat teammate Alex Demas by just 0.10 seconds! Quite a photo finish. If you can’t do the math, this means Alex finished in 27:38.00. Up next was Henry Hornbrook, whose race I have already mentioned. Henry began leading a group about halfway through the race, then reached an unfortunate fork in the road and made the wrong choice. As Robert Plant said, Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, There’s still time to change the road you’re on. Henry and his pack converged with the lead pack and ended up running an indeterminable distance. It’s a learning experience! Henry crossed the line in 27:50.60. Henry admits to taking poor Aidan Farrell with him on this rebellious escapade. Aidan finished right behind Henry with a time of 27:51:00. Up next was Nolan Enright, who made his season debut with a great effort and a finishing time of 28:09.60. Up next was freshman Connor Quadrini. Connor finished with a time of 28:24.60. Next up was Nick Kwentus, who persevered through the questionable conditions and finished his race in 28:56.20. Next was Walter Chang, who ran an extremely impressive 29:11.20. Next up was Max Boughner, who braved the 8K once again and finished in 31:56.20. Cross country isn’t so bad is it?? Rounding out the guys team was senior John Burns, who finished in 33:41.20. Overall, this team blew the competition out of the water. These guys made the best of the difficult course, and created quite the funny story to tell. Sure the times can’t really be counted, but the unity and competitiveness of the team was admirable.
Post race, it was time to GRUBBBBB. Continuing in Culver’s hiatus, the team opted for Chick-Fil-A today. We have really stepped outside of our comfort zone. To be honest, I really want a comprehensive review of the CurderBurger (yeah, it’s back), so Laine, can we please go to Culver’s after Regionals?? With full bellies, the team piled back into their respective vehicles and started the drive home. I heard that Bridget’s 2000 Camry only got 12 miles to the gallon thanks to all that hardware on the way back. Small price to pay for an epic day of racing.
Alright, that is all from me. Now it’s time to ramp up our training for a little bit as we keep building towards Nationals. There will be a nice weekend off from racing before Regionals in Iowa on the 19th (sign up for football volunteering on October 12th, I’ll be there). Like I have said many times, I am so proud of the team’s efforts at the Irish Invite. We are looking sharp, strong, and representing the Illini name well.
Yours truly,
Emma Berg