With the breezy, fall cross country weather among us finally, IXC was back for the second meet of the season in Bourbonnais.
With plenty of time to spare before warm ups, you could find our runners huddled together to keep warm, or off exploring the corn or searching for undiscovered Porta-Potties.
When it was time for the women’s 5k race, our women were excited and ready. Emma Burkhardt chilled in the chase pack for the majority of the race and had a great kick at the end to come in first for our women with a time of 19:01. This is just as fast as she has run a 5k on the track. Which means to also look out for her come track season. Anneliese Schulz was not far behind in a 23 SECOND PR of 19:07. With her parents and fluffy dogs cheering her on, this women’s captain had a fantastic race and was very proud of all the women who came out. Julia Schultz has been hitting high mileage and finished in 19:51. She still has yet to show all that she has and it will come at the right time.
Vicky Dent set a cross country 5k PR in 20:10. Grace Gudwien came in at 20:13, with Mia Bertaud close behind in 20:19. All three of these girls packed up and pushed each other throughout the race, which is what we love to see. Clare Oehler rounded out the top 7 for the women in 20:54. Grace McDonough had another strong race, running 21:19. In her first race of the season, Brianna Legner ran 22:52. Our hard working social events coordinator, Riley Maloney, crossed the line in 23:01. After dealing with a rough injury, Maloney is putting in the work and results will come from it, it just takes some time.
Samantha Gonski also raced her first race in an Illinois uniform in Bourbonnais. She finished with a time of 23:31. Next for the women was Natalie McGuire who ran 24:34, with Mahum Chaudhary not far behind in 24:53. Zoe Jacquat wrapped up the women in 25:17.
On the men’s side, Ryan Somerfield had a strong race amid a tough field, finishing first for the club in 26:12. Freshman Justin Ostrem showed up big again, running 26:33. Willy Wolf raced tactically and had a strong finish to come in at 26:37. Thanks to Coach Skogsberg, making his first ever race appearance was Josiah Marshmallow who raced comfortably and came in right with Wolf at 26:37. Josh Feldman came next in 26:53. Freshman Colin Kirkham debuted his 8k with a fantastic 26:55 performance. Topping off the men’s top 7 was Connor Farrell in 26:57.
Leonel Rodriguez has been putting in a lot of work so far this season and it is really paying off. He ran just a smidge under 27 in 26:59.96 and is ready to continue showing that he belongs with the top guys. Nikita Smyrnov had an impressive 8k debut as he raced a 27:11. Eli Walker came in right behind Smyrnov in 27:12. John Kellum was next in 27:26. Fun fact for those who didn’t know: Kellum used to be a sprinter.
Alex Hanskat nabbed a 20 second PR in the wind with a 27:31. Next in was Jean Rasmussen, who is only here with us for the semester from Denmark. Rasmusen ran 27:34 in his first 8k, and knows he can do better with a slightly different race strategy. Matt Beckerman surprised himself with a fast time of 27:36. He now looks ahead to breaking 27. Recent sub 2:54 marathoner Evan Patel decided to race ONU just for fun yet surprised himself with a 20 second personal record of 27:39. He is ready to get back into 8ks and continue improving throughout the season.
With his back continuing to feel better, Andrew Walmer is showing significant signs of improvement, with a 27 second faster time of 28:20 than his Aurora race. Biology joke enthusiast Cody Lund ran 28:24, and Blake Duncan posted a 28:44. Zach Fishman, racing his first cross country race in 3 years, got into a strong, comfortable pace during the race and finished with a time of 29:04. He believes this is a strong start and a great confidence booster.
Evan Eckels finished in 29:13, with Alex Kogen coming in at 29:34. Daniel Engel ran 29:40 but knows he has room for improvement. Sean Frintner got a big confidence boost from his 29:55 after trusting in himself and going out strong. He also was closer to his best time than he has been in years. Hopefully he is able to reach it very soon. Just behind Frintner was Eric Bayer who ran 29:56 for his first collegiate race. Matt Dickinson ran a solid PR with 30:00, but was really hoping for sub 30. With some more training, no doubt he’ll pull it off. Dr. Mr. Sir President Muneeb Ansari, PhD. set out with a hefty goal this week of reaching 70 miles. Amidst this, he ran a 30:15 8k here at Olivet, pushing himself and taking some risks. Congrats on the mileage PR, President.
Olan Bruyere got out at a good speed and maintained well throughout the course to run a MINUTE PERSONAL BEST of 31:17. What a beast. Nick Schuster, with some tight plantars, raced 32:38, and Ari Machtinger debuted in the 8k with a 32:54. John Feeley ran 35:06, and if you’ve seen this guy’s effort at practice, you know that time is going to come down more. Cameron Smith rounded out the men with a time of 36:08.
With the women taking first place and the men placing 4th, the Illinois Cross Country Club continues to show it belongs at meets with talented D2 and D3 schools.
Until next time.