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On Friday, February 8th, eight of our athletes headed up to Allendale, Michigan for the GVSU Big Meet. This is a very competitive varsity meet which we send only a selective few athletes to every year (except last year because big snow).

Most of our athletes this year found tremendous success:

The women’s 3000m saw Anneliese Schulz and young superstar Grace Gudwien working together throughout the race. Both came out with big PRs of over 10 seconds, with Schulz running 10:40.32 and Gudwien running 10:41.49!

The men’s 3000m featured Ryan Somerfield who had a fantastic race from the back of the pack, running a 14 second PR of 8:49.36!

In the women’s mile, Emma Burkhardt worked hard to run a season’s best of 5:23.78. With it being such a tight race, she was pushed out into lane three for much of the race, making it more impressive that she was only a few seconds off her goal. Julia Schultz ran 5:12.91 and has her eyes set on the club record of 5:05.

On the sprinter’s side, Andy Marszewski went HUGE in his 400 to run a 50.66! This is a PR of nearly TWO SECONDS! Andy showed up big in the 200, too, going 22.87.

Becky Haight had a season best of 1:00.97 in her 400, coming within less than a second of her PR! She also went 25.95 in the 200 and 8.12 in the 60.

Michael Jang competed in three events and performed great in all of them. He PR’d in the 60 with a 7.31, and PR’d in the 200 going 23.47, AND PR’d in the 60H in a time of 8.84!

Hopefully these athletes found their trip up to Allendale worth it, as many of them came away with lifetime PRs in their events. Competition breeds success and these guys proved that!

The next day, February 9th, the club sent 35 athletes to the Athletics & Recreation Center (fancy term for ‘big inflated dome’) in Indianapolis.

Jacob Avenaim had another PR 60m performance, running 7.23. Also in the 60 was Justin Nebel who ran 7.49, John Brandenburg with 7.71, Ben Junkroski ran 7.77, and PJ Coleman in 9.47.

In the women’s 60m hurdles we saw Tatiana Montanez race 11.84 in her first 60H race!

John Brandenburg led the 200 with a time of 24.73. Behind him was Ben Junkroski with 25.58. PJ Coleman finished in a time of 30.12.

President Alex Bienduga placed 8th with his 400 time of 52.75. Also in the 400 was David Young who ran 1:05.98.

Tatiana Montanez came back in the 400 and ran a time of 1:08.69.

The 800m run was full of Illinois athletes. Head coach Keith Lee finished in 2:01.92, taking 3rd overall. Evan Patel raced conservatively due to a recent hamstring strain but still finished in a solid 2:10.15. Justin Ostrem clocked in at 2:14.17, Beau Barber raced 2:15.05, Jarod Meyer came through at 2:16.12. Jake Winter came in next in 2:17.8, with Daniel Engel running 2:18.77, and Matt Dickinson finishing in 2:27.24.

Freshman Katie Sledz finished first for our women in 2:33.17. Clare Oehler was right behind in 2:34.34, and Natalie Maguire finished her race in 3:08.89.

In the mile was Justin Ostrem who finished in 4:41.05. Evan Patel had a strong kick to come through in 4:47.31, just a couple seconds off his collegiate PR. Jarod Meyer ran a collegiate PR with 4:48.77! Patrick Willhalm raced hard to finish in 4:57.93.

Clare Oehler had an amazing mile race to finish in 5:39.13. Noel Brindise was going to be happy with a sub 5:45 performance and she hit that almost right on with 5:45.16. Emily Condic raced 5:58.43, and Lindsey Schmidt was so close to breaking 6 with her 6:00.5. Brianna Legner ran 6:16.17, improving 13 seconds from her performance at IWU last month!

In the 3000, Josh Mollway ran 8:56.18 alone in the second heat. Connor Farrell finished in 9:18.94. Josh Feldman ran 9:28 and Jordan Meyer had a great race to finish in 9:29.85, a 13 second PR in just a couple weeks! Alex Kogen raced 9:55.07 in his first 3k race, and Daniel Engel ran 10:10.74. Matt Dickinson came in at 10:24.57 and Olan Bruyere came away with a PR of 10:25.39!

Mia Bertaud PR’d by a couple of seconds with her 11:37.38, and Natalie Maguire also PR’d by 8 seconds with a time of 13:43.45!

Jake Aldrich pole vaulted 4.41m. In the long jump, Justin Nebel jumped 5.99m. Chris Rydberg threw the shot put 12.89m, the second best throw in our club history!

Taylor Millsap pole vaulted 3.44m, and Nayeli Lara threw 8.33m in the shot put.

The men’s 4×400 team of John Brandenburg, Beau Barber, Ben Junkroski, and Keith Lee finished in 3:49.74.

The women’s 4×400 relay consisting of Emily Condic, Natalie Maguire, Clare Oehler, and Katie Sledz ran 4:56.5.

Though overall we didn’t see tremendous success in terms of performances, all athletes competed hard and treated this as another step towards the indoor season goal of Club Relays.

Congrats to all athletes on their performances at both meets!

Full results of the GVSU Big Meet can be found here
Full results of the UIndy invite can be found here

The Illinois Track and Field Club competes next at our own Illinois Club Relays in Champaign, IL on February 23rd.

Hope everyone is excited!

Twenty-four members of the Illinois Track Club competed at Illinois College on February 2nd. Four of them were competing for the club for the first time!

Desarae Echevarria jumped 4.34m in the long jump. Andy Marszewski jumped long jump for the first time with 5.78m. Newcomer Brend Hiserote grabbed a mark of 5.64m.

In the 60m hurdles, Desarae Echevarria came out with a time of 10.50. Michael Jang grabbed a PR by 1/100 of a second with 8.87! Eli Decker impressively three-stepped for all 9.95 seconds of his hurdle run.

Once again we only had one thrower compete. This week Chris Rydberg stepped up and oh, did he step up big. He threw 12.54m in the shot put which got him 5th overall in the meet and also placed him at 4th already on our top 10 list!

We again got to see some speed out of Becky Haight as she took 4th overall in the 60m dash with 8.15. Lauren Goodsnyder continued to impress with her PR of 8.93. Michael Jang (7.37), Andy Marszewski (7.40), Jad Karajeh (7.48) all ran the 60 for just the second time, with Marszewski coming away with a .19 second PR! Also in the 60 was Brend Hiserote who ran 7.52. Ben Junkroski set a PR running 7.61. John Brandenburg ran 7.68, with PJ Coleman also running a new PR of 9.12.

Jad Karajeh also jumped 12.56m in the triple jump!

In the pole vault, we saw Taylor Millsap vault a very impressive 3.35m for the W! Kat Leiner hit 3.05m to get second with Ciara Ward getting fourth with 2.6m. Ben Junkroski placed second overall with his 4.4m mark!

Alex Hanskat was the sole distance representative, running the mile in 4:54.45.

We had a 4×200 relay consisting of Ciara Ward, Lauren Grant, Lauren Goodsnyder, and Kaleigh Evans. These girls ran 1:56.76 and got second place!

For the men’s 4×200, Michael Jang, John Brandenburg, Yousuf Ahmad, and Andy Marszewski ran 1:38.63 to take third.

Lauren Grant also showed off in the open 400 with her impress 1:03.68 which got her first place! Alex Bienduga ran a hard 52.17 (his second best time on this club) to take home FIRST PLACE!

The 800 saw Patrick Willhalm run 2:07.34, Zack Fishman run 2:09.91, and Beau “Year 7” Barber run 2:15.32.

Becky Haight returned again to show off in the 200 with her 26.37 and 2nd place finish. Lauren Goodsnyder ran 30.81 to just about match her time from the Titan Open.

On the men’s side, Alex Bienduga finished in 23.7. Behind him was Michael Jang in 24.02. John Brandenburg ran 24.16 for a solid PR. Eli Decker came in at 26.18, with PJ Coleman finishing in 29.9.

Lastly, in the 4x4s, Lauren Grant, Desarae Echevarria, Kaleigh Evans, and Becky Haight claimed first place with their 4:15.82. The men’s relay of Beau Barber, Michael Jang, Zack Fishman, and Patrick Willhalm finished with a time of 3:46.61.

Congrats to all the great performances by every athlete!

The Illinois Track Club competes next at the UIndy Invitational/GVSU Big Meet on February 9th.

We headed back to the Shirk Center in Bloomington for the Titan Open on January 26th. We brought close to 40 athletes with to compete, our most ever for that meet!

Kicking off the meet for us was Ryan Somerfield in the 5000m run. He ran 15:51 which is a PR and put him at NUMBER TWO for all-time indoor 5ks on the club!

Becky Haight brought the heat with her 8.17 in the 60m dash, with freshman Lauren Goodsnyder also impressively running 9.04.

On the men’s side, Jacob Avenaim ran 7.25. Michael Jang ran the 60 for the first time and came out with an impressive 7.33. Mason Rosenberg followed in 7.43, with Thomas Harris hitting 7.47. John Brandenburg ran 7.59 and freshman PJ Coleman went 9.24.

Our only thrower at the meet was Kelvin Cross who threw 8.76m in the shot put. Way to represent, Kelvin!

In the women’s mile, Julia Schultz shone big with her 5:15.3, which is only 6 seconds off her PR and 10 seconds off the club record! Brianna Legner ran 6:29.08, with Natalie Maguire (6:50.67) and Sarah High (7:19.18) running strong, too.

Seven of our men competed in the mile. Josh Mollway ran a 4:30.1 alone, with John Kellum running very strong to finish in 4:34.27, an 11 second improvement from the week before! Freshman Alex Kogen ran 4:51.94, and Daniel Engel broke five for the first time in college with his PR of 4:58.88! Matt Dickinson was so very close to breaking five, running 5:00.12. He ran 5:10 at this meet last year, though, then went on to run 4:59 at Club Relays. This was Jake Winter’s first track meet in nearly seven years, and he came out with a 5:17.15 mile! Robert Chun ran 5:23.95.

Jumps coach Justin Nebel leaped 6.32m in the long jump.

Michael Jang returned in the 60m hurdles and ran a PR of 8.88!

Malorie Moore ran an excellent 1:07.47 in the 400m.

For the men, Andy Marszewski led the 400m charge with 52.6 with President Alex Bienduga right behind in 52.96.

Lauren Grant went OFF in the 800, running 2:22.77 which is a mere 2 seconds off the club record! Emily Condic debuted her collegiate 800 with 2:42.49.

Keith Lee is one of our strongest 800m runners, and he showed it on Saturday running 2:00.41. This is very impressive for an indoor meet this early. Jeffrey Hesselbein ran 2:08.68, which is going to come down more throughout the season, and Alex Kogen ran 2:17.55.

Sprints coach Becky Haight returned in the 200m and ran 26.82. Malorie Moore came back and raced 30.4, and Lauren Goodsnyder ran 30.77.

Andy Marszewski led the men with his 23.57. Alex Bienduga ran a strong 23.77, and Michael Jang ran a PR 23.83. Mason Rosenberg ran 23.97, John Brandenburg finished at 24.59, and Nicolas Perez raced 26.48.

Jad Karajeh jumped 12.82m in the triple jump in his second meet with the club!

The women’s 3000 was quite an exciting race to watch. Up front were Emma Burkhardt (10:49.36), Anneliese Schulz (10:52.3), and Grace Gudwien (10:53.25). This pack of ladies pushed and challenged each other and they all ran better because of it. Mia Bertaud ran 11:39.73 for her first 3000 race! Natalie Maguire also ran her first 3000 race and finished in 13:51.77.

The men’s 3000 also saw many racers. Connor Farrell ran up front and finished with 9:25.02. Jordan Meyer ran an impressive 9:42.95 in his debut in the event. Leonel Rodriguez dug deep and ran 9:45.07. Jarod Meyer ran within 10 seconds of his PR with 9:48.51, and Nathan Saltzman raced his first 3000 in 10:14.53.

The last event of the day was the 4×4, in which we only had a men’s squad. John Brandenburg, Jeffrey Hesselbein, John Kellum, and Justin Nebel ran 3:41.22 to win their heat.

Congrats to all athletes on their great performances!

Club Relays is February 23rd. It’s coming. Be hyped.

We compete next at Illinois College on February 2nd.

The success of a cross country meet is not measured by the performance of a few girls or guys in one race. Sure, it is the top 5 who contribute to the team score. But you will greatly miss out if you believe that those 5 are all that matter. On Saturday, November 10th, the Illinois Cross Country Club showed its depth at NIRCA Nationals in Lexington, Kentucky, and secured a spot in the minds of other clubs as a team to fear.

Our runners found success at Masterson Station Park in various ways. Some saw enormous PRs. Some tried something new and saw it pay off. Some found themselves running with people they never thought they could run with. Some found the All-American honor. Some ran their last cross country meet. However each runner found his/her success, each one raced with heart and grit and contributed to the overall success of the team.

Alrighty. Strap in. This’ll be a long one.

The first race of the day was the Open 5k. Representing Illinois was Abby Ludwig, Maia Haworth, Riley Maloney, Leah Ziolkowski, Adam Bruyere, Gaby Aguilera-Ripley, and Evelyn Hughes (as well as alumni Michael Frintner). Some of these runners weren’t sure if they wanted to come race, but we are thankful they still did and hope they enjoyed their race. Adam was able to close out his senior season strong. Leah ran her fastest 5k since high school, and Riley had a great race despite the cold and a hip injury early in the season which hindered her training. We are very grateful these runners came along and raced and cheered on their teammates throughout all the other races!

Next up was the men’s Jr/Sr/Grad 8k race. Coach Richard Skogsberg fittingly led the charge with a season PR of 26:59 to take 3rd. He has put an enormous amount of effort into setting up everyone on this club to improve and building a strong team culture and for that we all owe him our thanks. Eli Walker wasn’t far behind in 27:15 to come in 6th place. We are very grateful for Eli’s cheerfulness and how much he smiles 🙂 Matthew Beckerman finished in 27:30 solidifying a personal best in a race that he was rightfully very proud of. Evan Patel ran a 4 second PR with 27:35 after not getting much sleep the night before. #nappingisntanoption. Cody Lund ran 27:37 which was his first non-Aurora sub 28 performance in a race that he calls his favorite XC race of all time. “Hugged Evan, hugged Beckerman, said congrats to Coach and Eli. It was just an unbelievable feeling seeing how the five of us worked together to dominate a race like that,” Cody says in his log. This level of comradery is what is so beautiful about this sport. Those first 5 guys all finished among the top 15 which secured the Jr/Sr/Grad victory for our men.

Coming in next was Jarod Meyer who finished in 28:15 and suffered from some hypothermia during the race. He’s very proud of his teammates and thankful for such a fun weekend. Sean Frintner raced another huge PR with a 28:58. He challenged himself early on and went out there and took what he wanted in the cold. He has had one of the biggest success stories this season, for sure, and it’s exciting to think about where he can be next season. Daniel Engel finished his race in 29:50 after a quick start. He also has next season to look forward to seeing how strong he can finish off his time on the club. Matt Dickinson ran 30:14 and crossed the finish line completely wiped which is something he should definitely be proud of.

Muneeb Ansari finished in 30:21, but there’s way more to say about this man than just what he ran in his last cross country race. Too much to say about this man. He found it hard to fit in freshman year. But he didn’t give up and walk away. He invested his time and effort more and more in this club each year. When he became President his junior year, the club instantly became the welcoming, inclusive home for growing as runners and friends that it is now. It was Muneeb. A personalized, heartfelt note card for every. single. runner. at nationals. I can guarantee you that is not done across other clubs. Despite being so involved on campus, Muneeb still makes the time to always make someone’s day on the club. He constantly checks up on us through our logs to make sure we know we’ll always have his support. I just don’t think we can thank him enough for all he’s done for this club. But we better try. Muneeb, thank you for the love. Thank you for all you’ve provided. Thank you for all you’ve taught. Thank you for all of your heartfelt words. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the impact you’ve had on this team. I truly believe your mark will be left for years to come. Your efforts and accomplishments far transcend those before you, and will continue to transcend those that come after you. And for that, we all truly love you.

As you wipe those tears away, let’s talk about Zach Scheffel who ran 30:51. As he continues to learn more about himself as a runner and racer, he will continue to see improvement. Alex Hanskat wrapped up our men in the Jr/Sr/Grad race with a 31:10. A huge thank you to Hanskat for all the organizing he did to make this weekend a success.

Next to toe the line were the Jr/Sr/Grad women. Leading our women in this race were Emily Condic (25:10) and Tiffany Yathaputanon (25:12). Both of these women had fantastic races. Emily ran a nearly 30 second season PR, and Tiff got pretty close to her PR despite having to deal with some health issues in her final season. Lindsey Schmidt came in next in 25:52, which is more than a whole minute faster than her debut at Regionals! Brianna Legner PR’d by a couple seconds running 27:38 and Samantha Gonski ran a PR of 27:48! Adriana Milkto also posted a personal best and got under 30 for the first time with a 29:25 after training alone nearly the entire season. Congrats on all the PRs!

As the temp started to finally warm up a bit, it was time for the Men’s Championship race. Josh Mollway decided to push it early on in hopes that it would pay off in the end which led him to a time of 25:59 and 9th place. Ryan Somerfield had the race he knew he could have, running 26:11 for 17th place. Being All-American has been on his mind since 2015 and he finally accomplished it. He should be very proud of his season. Jean Rasmusen was a little worried leading up to Nats that he overtrained, but if 26:35 and 35th place was him overtrained, I’d love to see what he could do trained just right. Jean will be dearly missed and we appreciate the time he has spent with us this semester.

Josh Feldman closed out his last cross season strong with a time of 26:59. A four time Championship racer and an All-American his sophomore year, Josh is a very hard worker who embodies the idea that you get out of your training what you put into it. He also used to love beets. He will be missed. Closing out the scoring five for the men was Justin Ostrem in 27:02. This freshman has shown what he’s capable of and it’s exciting to think about what he can accomplish in the club running scene. He also writes fire raps so don’t cross him. Brian Butcher finished his race in 27:07 which he knows wasn’t his best performance. He looks to learn from this season and improve upon it next year where he’ll be looking to truly show what he’s got.

Coming in at 28:34 was Leonel Rodriguez . Chronic bronchitis can really interfere with aerobic exercise sometimes. But Leonel refuses to give up or quit because of his love for this sport. With his family and closest friends cheering him on, he put on a pure grit performance in which he dug his absolute deepest in order to cross that finish line. Despite the unimaginable pain, he never once doubted he would finish and never once had thoughts of fear. The amount of strength he has cannot be taught or even explained. Leonel is a one of a kind runner and a true testament to the notion that success isn’t found purely through places and times, but rather effort and resiliency. I want to personally thank Leonel for the impact he has had on his teammates. He is an honor to run and interact with. He now sets his sights on what he can accomplish in track, and I wish him the best of luck.

The Women’s Championship race proved to be the best performance from our women since 2013 with four All-Americans in Emma Burkhardt (11th, 22:18), Julia Schultz (17th, 22:32), Anneliese Schulz (20th, 22:37), and Grace Gudwien (30th, 22:55). ALL of these women ran personal bests and did an amazing job of working off each other throughout the race. A tremendous showing of teamwork leading to success. The last time Emma Burkhardt was at this course, she was unable to finish and had to be carried off the course. No doubt that was in her mind as she returned this year, but she was not afraid, she was excited. She went on to PR by almost an entire minute which is practically unheard of when you get to her talent level. Her time of 22:18 is also the second fastest 6k time EVER by a woman on our club! Julia wasn”t quite having the races she wanted earlier in the season, but this fearsome runner focused harder and trusted in herself to have her best performance in the last race of the season. Anneliese is another four time Championship racer who became an important leader on the club as she became Women’s Captain. Her PR of over 40 seconds came from trusting in the process and winning the tough mental battle down the stretch of pushing your body to the limit and finishing on empty. Grace has showed all year that she runs with confidence and isn”t afraid to run with the most elite women. She might be our first freshman All-American ever, and I”m sure she”ll be looking for that honor for each year that she”s here which would be a feat truly unheard of and remarkable. Mia Bertaud raced strong to finish in 23:51. This is a PR for her by over 30 seconds! Look out for what she can do as she steps into more of a leadership role on the team next year. Noel Brindise had her best race yet with a 24 second PR of 24:12. What a great way to end off her XC career with Illinois! Vicky Dent also brought home a PR with her time of 24:20, which means that all seven of the women in the Championship race ran lifetime PRs in the 6k. The goal for these women going into the race was to have them all under 25. Well, they smashed that and all ran 24:20 or under.

Moving onto the future of the club. The Men’s Fresh/Soph race was led by Connor Farrell who finished 13th place in 27:22. Nikita Smyrnov followed in 28:04, with John Kellum running hard to finish in 28:16. As these guys continue to gain experience and put in hard work, they are bound to see the results they want. Freshmen Jordan Meyer (28:24) and Liam Bots (28:25) both bested their Regionals performances, with Bots running a PR of 30 seconds! Nathan Ehrenhofer was able to just get under 29 with his 28:59 for another PR of about 10 seconds. Blake Duncan improved on his time from Regionals running 29:18. Patrick Willhalm (29:32) and Alex Kogen (29:34) came in next, both also improving on their Regionals performances with Patrick running a PR of 17 seconds!

Nathan Saltzman finished in 30:08 which is over a minute of a PR. Bryan Himmel was dealing with some knee troubles but still finished in 30:35 which is almost a minute faster than his race at Regionals. Nick Schuster had a breakout race, running 31:38, a 50 second PR! Olan Bruyere wasn’t far behind in 31:50 and Derek Engelbrecht won biggest PR with his 2 minute and 8 second PR of 32:05! Wow! With an opening cross country season like that, Derek could see himself under 30 minutes next year.

David Creger had a strong race to finish in 32:21. John Feeley cracked out a 33:08 for another minute PR. John has gone from 36:17 to 35:06 to 34:04 now to 33:08! Amazing progress! Speaking of progress, Nate Sun also had an enormous Nationals race to end his first cross country season with a time of 34:04, almost a whole 150 seconds faster than his Regionals race! Sean Norris dropped 20 seconds with his 35:42 performance, and Robert Chen finished his first Nationals race in 36:38. The improvement in these men is thrilling. I look forward to seeing how they all come back and do next year.

The final race of the day was the Women’s Fresh/Soph 6k. We ended up only having three women racing in this, which meant they each got a whole lot of cheering directed right at them. Clare Oehler-O’Sullivan ran a monstrous PR with her 24:31 performance to finish in 10th. A promising future on the club awaits this freshman who moved up 7 places in the last kilometer of the race. Grace McDonough was stricken with serious shin splints after Regionals and was unable to run any serious mileage for the weeks leading up to Nationals. Instead of dismissing her season as over, she grinded out hours and hours on the Elliptical to set herself up for as much success as she could for Lexington. Her time of 25:25 just barely missed being a PR and was almost two minutes faster than her Regionals time. Never give up. Always keep working. Natalie Maguire finished her race in 28:12 which was a PR by over a minute! She improved at each race she ran this season!

The Illinois Cross Country Club left NIRCA Nationals 2018 with two All-American men, four All-American women, 5th place in the Men’s Championship, 4th place in the Women’s Championship, 3rd place in the Men’s Fresh/Soph, 7th place in the Women’s Jr/Sr/Grad, and 1st place in the Men’s Jr/Sr/Grad. They also left with roughly 25 personal bests, and (hopefully) some great memories from a fun weekend.

Great job to everyone that raced this season.

A very warm thank you to all the seniors/grad students that will not be returning next year. We wish you luck in all your pursuits.

Have a wonderful off season, and good luck to all athletes in track.

Until next season.

This Friday, IXC will arrive at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, Kentucky for the Nationals race on Saturday. We will have nearly 70 runners spread throughout the Open 5k, Fresh/Soph, Jr/Sr/Grad, and Championship races. We have historically done very well at Nationals and are excited to continue that pattern as we come in with very talented girls and guys squads. Let’s take a closer look at who each race will feature….

Open Race (5k) – 8:00am
This year will see Abby Ludwig, Maia Haworth, Riley Maloney, Leah Ziolkowski, Adam Bruyere, Gaby Aguilera-Ripley, and Evelyn Hughes racing in the Open 5k. Go kick those parents’, alumni, and hobby joggers’ butts!

Men Jr/Sr/Grad (8k) – 9:00am
There are certainly at least a few key guys to look for in this race. The first of which being Coach Skogsberg as he hopes to prove he still has a great 8k race in him. Another is Alex Hanskat who looks to have a race without stomach problems. Muneeb Ansari is determined to break 30 this season and Lexington is where we’re gonna see that happen. Make sure you cheer your President on! Daniel Engel is ready for a breakout performance after lower mileage as he looks to go under 29 again. Jarod Meyer has gotten oh so close to breaking 28 and is excited to do that in Kentucky. After having his calves tighten up during Regionals, Matt Beckerman looks forward to pushing his limits as he shoots for sub 27 this weekend. Lastly, but not leastly, keep your eyes on Matt Dickinson as he aims for breaking 30 alongside Muneeb. This is a deep squad that will do damage on Saturday.

Women Jr/Sr/Grad (6k) – 10:00am
This race will feature strong ladies packing up and taking down other clubs, no doubt. Tiffany Yathaputanon will be giving it her all after chest pain has hindered some of her performances this season. Brianna Legner looks to improve even more after running a nearly 90 second PR at Regionals. Lindsey Schmidt ran an impressive debut 6k at Regionals, so look out for what she can do on Saturday. Maggie Madden looks at running a strong Nationals race after a consistent Regionals performance. Emily Condic will be aiming to get under 26 to best her performance at Regionals. Lastly, Adriana Miltko, like all of us, is just very hyped to race Nats and race as well as she can. Go get it, ladies!

Men’s Championship (8k) – 11:00am
This race will include Ryan Somerfield, Justin Ostrem, Josh Mollway, Brian Butcher, Jean Rasmusen, Leonel Rodriguez, and Josh Feldman. These guys have been grinding out tough workouts all season and working hard together. They plan on showing NIRCA why they should be feared.

Women’s Championship (6k) – 12:00pm
This race will feature Anneliese Schulz, Julia Schultz, Emma Burkhardt, Grace Gudwien, Mia Bertaud, Vicky Dent, and Noel Brindise. These women have incredible talent and potential. They smashed Regionals and are ready to prove they’re an elite group of runners.

Men’s Fresh/Soph (8k) – 1:00pm
We loving seeing so many underclassmen racing Nationals. Connor Farrell is definitely someone to look out for as he heads into this race as a favorite to do very well. Nikita Smyrnov and John Kellum are also people to watch for in this race. Jordan Meyer and Liam Bots have had strong seasons and will be looking to go under 29 in Lexington. Bryan Himmel looks at having a stronger race than he had at Regionals. Robert Chun and Sean Norris are coming off their first races and will be looking to drop times at Masterson Station Park. We have a deep group of young men that can do damage when they work together.

Women’s Fresh/Soph (6k) – 2:00pm
The last race of the day will feature our talented young women. Clare Oehler will be aiming at getting close to 25. Grace McDonough hopes to run free of pain. Zoe Jacquat looks to best her 32:57 performance from Regionals, and Natalie Maguire will be looking to get back under 30. Three of these four women will be running their first Nationals race! Yay for youth!

IXC will arrive in Kentucky ready to show off its experience as well as its depth. Our athletes are poised to run strong races at every level and prove why the Illinois Cross Country Club is a force to be reckoned with.

Seniors, enjoy the final hurrah of your time in the club. Enjoy the car rides, enjoy every moment with the team, enjoy the pain. You’ll be surprised how quickly you miss all of it.

Newcomers, take some time to look around and recognize how wonderful it is that such an event can be held for club teams from all over the country to come together and enjoy racing.

Come prepared Friday morning for an eventful weekend. Oh, and get plenty of sleep this week.

Until next time.

Graduation season starts, Track and Field season ends. ITFC was able to close out the season at two North Central College meets.

The first was the Dr. Keeler meet that saw four men race. Josh Mollway ran the 5k in a time of 15:32.74. His goal was 15:45 and was a bit worried about his low mileage. But this is the same Mollway that ran a 1:57 leg at Nationals relays after some injuries. His splits were very even and it’s a great way to close out the season.

In the 400, Beau and Mario ran 54.57 and 56.87, respectively. That’s a 0.8 second PR for Mario and 0.1 second PR for Beau. Big congrats to Mario on his club career, Cornell is lucky to have you <3.

Josh Feldman walked into Naperville to take names. His season was focused on slow, steady progress instead of big breakthroughs. He PR’d in the 5k in nasty conditions. He ran a 4:36 mile while developing a cold at Peaks. In the 3k steeple, he had PR’d this season with a time of 10:00.29. Just a half step over sub 10:00.

Here is an excerpt from his log:
“The first lap was around 75, then around 77 and 78. Towards the 5th and 6th laps, I started to fade a little bit mentally an” d I kind of didn”t think I would PR. But with one lap to go, I heard another coach yell ‘”You have to run a 78 to break 10! I knew I could run a 78, so I really started pushing as hard as I could cause this is my last race of the season. I passed like 4 guys and had a really strong kick. My final time was 9:54.19 which was my first time under 10 and a 6-second pr.”

Josh is now the 2nd fastest steepler behind Chris DeSilva. The club record is 9:36.50, in case you were wondering…

Later in the week, North Central hosted another meet for D3 athletes trying to get Nationals qualifying marks (or for club runners looking for a good time).

Michael Jang ran 11.76 for the 100m dash. Though not a PR, he ran into 2.2 m/s headwind. If you took PHYS101 you can do the math yourself, he was moving fast. His PR is 11.42 from Club Peaks.

Malorie Moore doubled in the 200/400 running well in both.

In his final race as a club member, having already graduated, Sean McCarty ran 2:01 in the 800.

Now it’s time for some well-earned rest. Big things are coming this next XC season, HAGS.”,2018-05-18 23:00:00+00,Outdoor
238,Josh Mollway,Early Season Racing at EIU,”After a wonderful winter break of training, we had four athletes go to the John Craft Invite at Eastern Illinois.

Jacob Avenaim started off for the Illini in the 60m dash. He came in at 7.31 which is only a single second off of being on the all-time top 10 list for our club! This freshman has a bright future ahead of him, for sure.

Also running in the 60 was Thomas Harris who finished in 7.34. Coming off a PR from the early bird, this is a great start to the season for this senior. Thomas also ran an impressive 23.7 in the 200.

John Brandenburg rounded out our 60m runners with his 7.58. This was his second best 60m performance so just wait until these 10pm practices start kicking in. John also came back later in the 200 with a 24.65.

John Kellum ran a solid 4:45.68 in the mile and 2:06.84 in the 800. Though these weren’t quite what he was hoping for, he has true dedication and the hard work will start to yield some results soon enough.

Great job to these athletes on a successful early meet. With the meet being shifted a day earlier, some athletes planning to compete were unable to attend.

The Illinois Track Club competes next at Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, January 26th.”,2019-01-23 11:05:00+00,Indoor
232,Josh Mollway,IXC Dominates Regionals on Home Turf,”In team sports, the term ‘home advantage’ describes the benefit that the home team is said to gain over the visiting team(s). Through constantly training on it, we as a club have gotten to know the arboretum quite well. It came as no surprise, therefore, that almost all 80 of our racers were comfortable on Saturday morning walking around at the NIRCA Great Plains Regional Championship course for 2018. We knew that course better than anyone on any other team. We expected the tough 800m back loop, we knew what it was like to run up that hill countless times, and we knew when we needed to start our kicks. IXC had the home advantage once again (we also hosted back in 2014 and 2015), and our runners’ performances reflect it.

With only 8 total teams, the fields were relatively small. 170 men total. 102 women total. Packs of Illinois runners could be seen all throughout the field.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…GO! The men’s 8k was off and almost immediately the Illini grouped up and moved in packs. Josh Mollway finished 2nd in 26:32 after moving up the majority of the race. Ryan Somerfield ran a strong race up front and kicked hard to finish 3rd in 26:39. Butcher, after hitting a couple hundred mile weeks in a row, finished in 26:56. After some mileage droppage in the upcoming weeks (still nothing below 80; let’s not get too crazy), Butch should be primed for a perfect Nationals race. Jean Rasmussen ran another very strong race, nearly cracking 27 again in 27:03. Behind him was Justin Ostrem running well in 27:15, with Josh Feldman improving on his time from Lewis with a time of 27:19. Rounding out the men’s top 7 was Eli Walker who used the pack running to his advantage to run a solid 27:20.

Richard Skogsberg (he’s our head coach) has been hitting pretty steep mileage these days as well and was feeling it in his legs on Saturday. Still, he ran 27:27 and is looking forward to running an 8k he’s proud of at Nationals. Connor Farrell ended up with 27:31 after going out a bit too fast, but he knows he can learn from it and stay mentally strong to race well at Nationals. Every race is a new opportunity. This was only Nikita Smyrnov’s second 8k and he came in at 27:36. With some tough competition at Nationals, no doubt he’ll drop a sizeable PR in Lexington. Colin Kirkham raced 27:46 and Evan Patel ran an impressive 27:54 on the unofficially confirmed long course. Nathaniel Oomen, in his first race of the season, dropped a 27:58 with calf-cramping Matt Beckerman right at 28:00.

Jarod Meyer ran 28:11, determined to break the 28 minute barrier at Nationals. Cody Lund ran only a few seconds behind his Lewis time with 28:18, which should turn into a sub 28 performance come Nationals. Michael Gerkin raced his first 8k of the season at the arb and ran 28:28. Alex Hanskat was next in 29:02 after having to deal with stomach issues for much of the race. With a fresh mindset and a cured stomach, I certainly believe that Hanskat can have the race he’s been waiting for in 3 weeks.

Jordan Meyer has slowly and quietly been grinding out workouts, races, and long runs and his progress is evident. He ran 29:13 and will be ready to reach his peak when the time comes.

Sean Frintner is unquestionably the man of the day, in my eyes. The entire experience on Saturday can be credited to Sean’s coordination and hard work. This man does not just show up on Wednesdays with rakes, people. He puts in an incredible amount of work behind the scenes to make sure our racing experience at the arboretum goes as smoothly as possible. Beyond this success, he ran 29:14, a time he hasn’t gotten close to touching since his freshman year and felt amazing physically and mentally while doing it. Remember when I said that moment would come and it would be glorious? Bravo, Sean. Bravo. And thank you for all you did to make Saturday the success that it was.

Liam Bots was next in for our men. He ran 29:16 and is excited to make big gains in Kentucky. Lucas Carrillo finished in 29:32. This being his first race since Aurora, he was able to PR by over 15 seconds! Right behind Lucas was Andrew Walmer who ran 29:35. Alex Kogen raced hard to finish in 29:47, and Patrick Willhalm accomplished his goal of wanting to break 30 with a 29:49 performance. Daniel Engel ran 29:51 on some stiff legs, but is excited for what he can do after decreased mileage. Blake Duncan had a rough race, finishing in 29:54 and then throwing up. Just wait until he’s THROWING UP ON THE COMPETITION AT NATTIES! (maybe don’t actually do that, Blake).

Kevin Callahan had a retreat planned for this weekend and missed the first day to race with his friends on such a lovely day for a race. He ran 30:12 and we greatly appreciate him showing up. Tim Green raced 30:33 and Muneeb Ansari came in at 30:36. Muneeb raced on this course for NIRCA Regionals his freshman and improved on his time from then by over a minute. Going into his final Nationals, Muneeb looks forward to flexing our team’s depth in the B races. Eric Bayer and Matt Dickinson came in together in 30:38, with Zach Scheffel shortly after in 30:40. Running again on pretty fatigued legs, Dickinson looks ahead to the mileage drop and what he can do at Nationals.

Nathan Saltzman dropped 3 seconds from Lewis with 31:15, but hey, any improvement is good. Ari Machtinger dropped a huge PR with 31:25. Bryan Himmel had a bit of a rough day with 31:33 but has one more race this season to show what he can do. Olan Bruyere ran 31:52 and David Creger was right after in 31:54. Olan experimented with starting conservatively and being more competitive throughout the race. Thomas Chavez ran his first race of the season fittingly on the home course and came in with a time of 32:02. Nathan Ehrenhofer ran 32:05 in his first race back from injury. Three weeks of training is definitely enough time for him to gain back some ground and do damage in Kentucky. Nick Schuster was next in 33:11.

John Feeley ran a huge PR of over a minute with a time of 34:06, showing that consistency and moderation pays off. Derek Engelbrecht finished in 34:59, with Robert Chun (35:56) and Sean Norris (36:03) racing their first races this season. Nate Sun came in at 36:31 to improve drastically from his Lewis performance. Leonel Rodriguez suffered an achilles injury just days before Regionals, but knowing that he could not race Nationals without finishing Regionals, he toughened up and showed true grit as he came across the finish line. I know I speak for everyone when I say that we wish Leonel a speedy recovery because we want to see him succeed in his last cross country race more than anything. Rounding out the men in this race were Cameron Smith, who ran 37:42, and Tim Zmudzinksi, who ran 39:49 in his first race of the season.

On the girl’s side, we once again saw incredible pack running and teamwork as our ladies pushed each other to do their best.

Leading the women again were Emma Burkhardt, Anneliese Schulz, and Julia Schultz, who embodied the picture perfect image of pack running. All three of these women ran smart, confidently, and showed NIRCA that they mean business. Burkhardt PR’d by 29 seconds with 23:14 and Schulz PR’d by 7 seconds with 23:19. Schultz is continuing to take steps in the right direction with her 23:38 performance. Watching these 3 compete in Lexington is going to be a show.

Next in for the women was Grace Gudwien who has just continued to get better and better. She ran 24:11 for a 28 second PR! Mia Bertaud closely followed in 24:24 which also was a personal best. Vicky Dent finished in 24:41 and is motivated to have her best race at Nationals. Noel Brindise came in 7th for our women with a time of 25:07. Clare Oehler PR’d by a few seconds with her time of 25:22, and Sara Folliard, in her first race of the season, accomplished her goal of sub 26 with 25:37. Tiffany Yathaputanon’s chest is still feeling a bit tight, but with it improving she was able to run 25:44, and she stays optimistic regarding what she can do at Nationals. Emily Condic raced hard to finish in 26:05.

Lindsey Schmidt didn’t know what to expect coming into her first 6k, but she managed to run an impressive 26:55 after having the goal of being in the 27s. Let’s hope she runs Nationals! Grace McDonough came into the race nervous about shin splints she’s been dealing with, and struggled to remain focused throughout the race. Though she didn’t have the race she wanted, she is a strong woman who is always able to look on the bright side of things and take something out of them. Brianna Legner raced 27:40 in her second 6k, and came in with confidence, knowing what to expect and how to approach the race. This was nearly a minute and a half PR! Sam Gonski also had a huge PR, running 27:55 after her 28:50 performance at Lewis. Congrats on the massive PRs, ladies!

Lucy Jensen raced her first collegiate 6k, and finished with a time of 29:16. Natalie Maguire finished in 30:06 after being able to continue moving up throughout the race. Next in was Adriana Miltko in 31:10 who was extremely happy with her performance and loved racing at the arb. Zoe Jacquat raced her first 6k and finished in 32:57. Not far behind her was Audrey Bloomquist (33:02), Katelyn Howley (33:17), and Maggie Madden (33:43) who all raced their first 6ks of the season. Madden was proud of her consistent race and looks now to speeding up overall and learning to run at the pace that she knows she can. Josie Suter found the hill tough towards the end of the race, but was thankful for the hill workout a couple weeks back that prepared her for it as she rounded out the women in 34:04.

With both the men and women having FIVE ALL-REGIONAL runners, the Illini took home first place trophies on both sides, scoring 24 points on the women’s side and 28 on the men’s.

With Nationals in Lexington, Kentucky three weeks out, IXC goes back to training hard for half of that time before tapering to be ready for peak performances.

Be ready. Be excited. The hype starts now.

Until next time.

Competing against some very fast varsity teams, IXC showed up at Lewis ready to race coming off some high mileage weeks and tough training. With humidity, a talented field, and a decently-sized hill to climb 200m in, this race would prove to be a mental test for all of our runners.

Uncommonly, the men’s 8k was the first race of the day. Ryan Somerfield had a tough time getting into a comfortable rhythm throughout the race. But the fact that his time of 26:26 is a subpar performance for him now is stating something. He is determined to stay focused and looks forward to regionals. Leonel Rodriguez has been on the up and up all season, so it isn’t surprising that he had another breakout race with 26:49. He trusted himself and it paid off. So excited to see how he can do at our last two races. Jean Rasmussen, our favorite Dane, improved by over 30 seconds on his race from ONU running 26:55. Brian Butcher raced tough in the humidity and finished in 26:59. Coach Richard dealt with dangerously low iron levels for quite some time and his body was unwilling to listen to him. Running 27:07 shows that his body is finally listening to him. Or maybe he just got lucky. Either way, we’re glad to have him back to racing.

Connor Farrell ran a solid 27:22 but is determined to work even harder to get where he wants to be. Josh Feldman took 7th place for the IXC men in a time of 27:39. Eli Walker battled himself mentally and felt weak throughout the race, but still managed a nice time of 27:44. With composure and confidence, this man of golden locks will soon show his best. John Kellum took a tumble after a runner in front of him went down mid-race. After a rough first few miles, he turned it around and finished hard in 27:50. Knowing he has what it takes and having the determination to get it done, Kellum looks forward to breaking his limits come the NIRCA races.

Evan Patel supposedly ate upwards of 90 pizza rolls in a single sitting. His time of 27:58 is only 19 seconds off his PR. Let’s see some of that pizza roll strength at Regionals, Evan. Cody Lund knocked off 10 seconds from his time at ONU, running 28:14. Can we see a sub 28 out of him next week at the arb? Next in was Jarod Meyer who ran 28:44. Recently free of injury, Meyer dug deep and worked himself nearly to throwing up in this race. Right behind Jarod was Jordan Meyer in 28:46. It appears that these two are nearly inseparable in races.

Alex Hanskat ran 29:04 and is looking forward to showing NIRCA how the REAL Alex Hanskat races soon enough. Alex Kogen improved on his time from ONU, running 29:11. Running his first race of the season, Patrick Willhalm ran a solid 30:02. This mid-distancer likes to show up on the XC course here and there and prove that he can do em both. Working together with Willhalm throughout the race was Sean Frintner, who yet again was very close to his PR with a time of 30:06. That moment will come and it will be glorious, Sean.

Muneeb Ansari stayed focus and surged hard to run 30:59. His goal at Regionals is sub 30. We know he can do it. But more importantly so does he. Nathan Saltzman finished in 31:18 in his first collegiate cross country race. PAR breakfast night aficionado Olan Bruyere was only a few seconds off his PR with a time of 31:20. Looks like Regionals will be bringing a lot of PRs to IXC this season. Matt Dickinson is a ping pong GOD, so I’ve learned, and will be looking to bounce back from his 32:34 on the home turf.

The Lewis race saw another first-time 8k competitor in Derek Engelbrecht, who ran 34:13. Derek came from a high school that didn’t offer cross country, so he’s only been doing this mad sport for a few months while some of the rest of us have been doing it for close to 10 years. Derek has much to learn and much experience to gain, which will only make him stronger. John Feeley ran tough to finish in 36:17 in the humidity and mush, and Nate Sun, who took a slight detour towards the end, ran 41:05 in his first 8k. With more consistency and mileage, Feeley and Sun might be surprised to see where they could be at this time in a couple of years.

The women’s race consisted of 19 Illini. Emma Burkhardt finished in 23:57, moving from group to group throughout the race. She enjoyed having to fight her way to the front. Anneliese Schulz pushed herself so hard she threw up after crossing the line in 24:13. This was a tough race for her but when you have as much experience as she does, you’re able to brush it off and look ahead and focus on what’s next. She looks to get one more 6k PR under her belt. Julia Schultz came in at 24:15, and although her season hasn’t started the way she wanted it too, she’s staying positive and is confident she can turn it around. Grace Gudwien felt pretty good throughout the race and ran a solid 24:45. Mia Bertaud had a strong finish to run 25:31, and is staying optimistic for the last two races of the season. Noel Brindise stuck onto a pack and finished in 25:38. Emily Condic rounded out the women’s top 7 with a time of 26:24.

Clare Oehler crossed the line next in 27:36, with Tiffany Yathaputanon right behind in 27:39. Hats off to Tiffany for continuing to push even after she started to have chest pain during the race. We hope she is back and better than ever for Regionals. Maia Haworth ran tough to finish in 28:33. Not far behind was Sam Gonski in 28:50 in her first 6k. Also debuting in the 6k was Brianna Legner who ran 29:03. In her first race for IXC, Gabriela Aguilar-Ripley ran 30:03. Hopefully, she liked it enough to do it again at our home course next week!

Riley Maloney made sure not a single person passed her in the whole race and finished in 30:18. On a tough day in tough conditions and tough outside factors, she did her best to make the race count. We’re all so proud of you for how hard you’re pushing, Riley. This was Stephanie Garcia’s first 6k representing Orange and Blue, and she ran 30:25. Rachel Troeger finished in 31:53, with Natalie Maguire coming in at 32:04. Josie Suter worked hard in her first 6k to run 33:38.

This day did not see many PRs from our club. It proved to be a mental (and obviously physical) barricade. But as we all know quite well, a season is more than a single race, just as a race is more than a single mile.

Prepare to show NIRCA and those other club teams that haven’t been training as hard as us why we deserve it more. Prepare to show them why they should fear IXC. Prepare to dig deep. Victory comes to those who endure.

Until next time.

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.

It’s September and still way too hot out which means cross country season is among us once again and, not even two weeks after classes began, the Illinois Cross Country Club found itself at its first meet of the 2018 season in Aurora.

With little to no troubles (besides a car breaking down), 44 of us, including nearly 15 freshmen and a couple non-freshmen newcomers, arrived at the Oakhurst Forest Preserve, ready to toe the line with some elite runners from varsity teams.

Thanks to some wonderful travel coordinating by our fantastic travel coordinator, Alex Hanskat, almost all of our cars arrived with plenty of time before the runners had to head out on their warm ups. After warm ups and some final race preparations, 5 o’clock rolled around and it was time for the first of the night’s two races: the women’s 6k.

As top tier returners, senior Anneliese Schulz and junior Julia Schultz (who are not sisters for anyone who didn’t notice the extra letter) led the lady Illini from the gun and worked off each other throughout the nearly 4 mile race. Though doubtful she would be able to pull off a PR in the dismal ground conditions, Schulz opened fast and ran tough in the mud. She ended up with a 22 second PR, coming in at 23:26 for 5th place. She finished right behind Schultz who finished in 23:20. That’s over 30 seconds faster than her time from Nationals last year! With season openers like these, NIRCA once again better look out for this dangerous duo come November.

Senior Vicky Dent crossed the line next for the club in 21st with a time of 24:23. She, probably like the rest of us, is curious what she could’ve run if it had not been for the mud. Not far behind Vicky was junior Amelia “Mia” Bertaud in 24:33 who somehow made it through the muddy course without spikes. Veteran Noel Brindise and newcomer Grace Gudwien came in almost side by side, finishing in 24:37 and 24:39 respectively. Noel decided to be aggressive early in the race and try to maintain, which paid off. Her time was well under what she expected from herself at this race and she now has her eyes set on a goal of breaking 24. This was a marvelous debut 6k by Gudwien and it is definitely safe to assume that she is going to keep doing damage throughout her time with us.

Tiffany Yathaputanon, a senior only in her second season of cross country, came in at 24:58, finishing off the top 7 for our women. Not far behind was sophomore Grace McDonough who was super excited for this race, after putting in a hard summer of training. Her time of 25:18 is almost a full minute faster than her time from nationals last year, which had also been a minute PR from her previous best. This means we can expect a 24:18 out of her next race, right?

Clare Oehler crossed the line next at 25:26. Clare is one of our new freshman and it can be assumed that she’s eager to make her mark early. Emily Condic, another seasoned veteran, finished next for the club in 25:38. After studying abroad for part of last year, she is back and ready to compete. Maia Haworth, who finished in 26:12, bested her nationals time from last year by minutes and was happy with the race, but knows she still has more left in her. Mahum Chaudhary is another freshman who came in at 27:28. Mahum enjoys long walks in downtown Naperville and running in the rain. Let’s just assume she loves running in the mud, too. Rounding out the women was Natalie Maguire who is another freshman (we’re glad we have so many of those) who finished in 29:20.

As the start of the men’s race was nearing, the men from the car that had broken down had arrived with a solid 10 or 15 minutes to spare before the gun. After Coach Skogsberg collected every watch in the greater Western Chicago area, it was race time.

Our men got out aggressively and packed up to work together throughout the race. Sophomore Josh Mollway was able to kick past former club coach Ryan Somerfield down the stretch to finish first for the club in 25:49, securing 5th place. Somerfield was just behind in 25:50 and 6th place, even though the polls say otherwise. Freshman Justin Ostrem showed up big in his 8k debut, running 26:05. No doubt he’ll become a vital component of this team as time progresses. Former ye ol’ Mahomet runner Brian “Butch” Butcher ran a consistent race after a consistent summer of training and finished with a time of 26:07. With Ostrem and Butch finishing 9th and 10th, the men’s top 4 finishers were among the top 10 overall finishers. Pack running pays off, people.

William Wolf, another Mahomet alum and our only All-American last season, finished off our scoring five coming in at 26:26. After a very busy academic year last year, this senior appears ready to finish off his time with the club strong. Josh Feldman and Leonel Rodriguez were the club’s 6th and 7th finishers, running 26:32 and 26:39. With Leonel feeling bronchitis-free and running with newfound confidence, it’ll be exciting to see what he can accomplish by this season’s end.

Rattling in next for the Illini were John Kellum in 26:53, Eli Walker in 26:58, and Connor Farrell in 27:07. All of these men improved from their nationals’ performances in Michigan last year. Secretary Cody Lund finished in 27:20, a solid PR, and enjoyed the true cross country experience of racing in the mud. You can thank Cody for getting us the stellar new uniforms.

Alex Hanskat didn’t exactly have the race he wanted with 27:54, but every race is a learning experience and his goals for this year are beyond times and places. No doubt he’ll accomplish what he wants to accomplish.

Next in was Blake Duncan who finished at 28:00. He’s a freshman with a lot of talent and we’re excited to see what he’s got. Brothers Jarod and Jordan Meyer finished just about side by side, with Jarod going 28:08 and Jordan going 28:09. Freshmen Evan Eckels and Alex Kogen were 10 seconds apart, finishing in 28:29 and 28:39. High school superstar Andrew Walmer, who was set back with a back injury last year, had a time of 28:47 which is a fantastic starting spot in coming back and building up to full strength.

Daniel Engel came into Aurora just hoping to break 30, and he came away with a time of 28:53, a 50 second personal best. (Have you been paying attention to how many PRs there has been?) Nathan Ehrenhofer and Bryan Himmel ran 29:08 and 29:19, with Timothy Green and Lucas Carillo not far behind in 29:46 and 29:49. All 4 of these freshman ran impressive opening 8ks.

Coming in next was hard working home meet coordinator, Sean Frintner, and dear president Muneeb Ansari. Frintner finished in 30:49 and Ansari came in at 30:50. With all of that mud, these are solid performances by our board members.

Finishing in 31:08 was Matt Dickinson. He is looking really solid aerobically and is looking to show what he can do on a course without swamps of mud. Zach Scheffel came in at 31:57 and Nick Schuster rounded out the men with a time of 32:28.

On a course where times were not the main concern, our runners ran pretty darn fast. The women claimed second place overall while the men grabbed first.

We hope to see more people come out to compete at our next meet hosted by Olivet Nazarene University at the Aspen Ridge Golf Course in Bourbonnais on Friday, September 28th.

Until next time.

What a perfect day at the races on our ‘home’ track. Our happy little club slept in, ran our race, and enjoyed the rest of the day. Ah, the joys of hosting. Several people looked to capitalize or bounce back from Nats. Others looked to have their first race after injury and other issues.

In the women’s 100, Lauren Grant PR’d with 13.90. A week ago she ran 14.17. In her first race due to injury and a very busy schedule, our beloved Social and Fundraiser Adriana Miltko ran the 100 as well. (Sign up for fancy dinner if you haven’t by the way)

For the men, Tyler Muckian made a comeback running 12.36. Shan PR’d again with 15.34, knocking off another .2 seconds. Do I hear a sub 15 next season? I do. I’m saying it. Throwback to club relays when I asked Michael Jang how his comeback was going. He said “my hurdle form is good, I’m just trying to get my speed back”. Like One Direction in a year, Jang came back together strong. He was the top Illinois sprinter in the 100 throwing down an 11.42, good for second overall. Andy also improved his collegiate PR from 11.83 to 11.48.

In the women’s 800, Grace McDonough continues to astonish us with a MEET RECORD of 2:32.02. Right on her hip was Tiffany Yathaputanon who has been grinding and grinding and grinding all of college and got a phenomenal race for second place. Tiffany ran 2:33.09 and her previous open best was 2:37.65. She said in her log “This was quite the redemption from last week at Nirca, and maybe all of this season. This is probably the first time in YEARS that I”ve felt that real ‘”in the zone'” feeling, where you don”t really feel the pain, or hear the people, or see anyone else besides who is in front of you.” Go Tiffany! Maggie Madden matched her PR from last week #consistentlyFast.

For the men’s 800, Keith Lee, John Kellum, and Mollway hammered the last 300 pushing one another. Keith took the W in 1:57.51. A lifetime PR! After a disappointing finish at Nats, Kellum took Coach Skogsberg’s advice and ran the week easy. He ended up with a season’s best and a satisfying end to his racing schedule until cross. Fishman also got a collegiate PR in 2:03.19. If you remember, he used to blaze the first 400 in 57-58 and crash and burn. I think he’s figured out how to race even splits. Beau Barber knocked another 0.9 seconds off his PR and finished in 2:06.92. Pierre ran 2:15.14, a 3.5 second improvement from Nats. The team also graced him with an Illinois flag for him to remember us back in Europe. :’( gonna miss u

The women’s 5k was essentially 3 separate races. One Northwestern girl going 18:30ish, another going 19:20, and Vicky Dent looking to run 6:20 pace. She was paced by Julia Schultz who kept it going and Vicky ran perfectly! She closed in an 88 for a PR!

The men’s 5k was lead by Eli Walker who was duking it out with his TA. Sean McCarty ran a pretty decent time in the 3k Steeple considering he’s never done it before. In a flurry of senioritis, he ran 11:13 and looked like he was having fun while jumping the barriers. Good for him!

I swear all I do in this board position is talk about Lauren Grant. She PR’d. Again. In the 400. And set a meet record. 1:02.65. I don’t know, just expect it at this point. Malorie Moore also shaved off some time to get a new 400 PR in 1:04.67. Her dogs also came so that was pretty great.

The men’s 400m was led by Andy Marszewski. This freshman ran the FASTEST 400 OF THE SEASON for the entire club. 50.77 is quick. Coach Tyler Splitt also ran a season best of 51.09. Some guy named “Martin” on Yahoo Answers says that starting blocks can take off .15-.30 seconds in the 400. That’s all I’m saying. It was written ‘1 decade ago’ and has one thumbs down but I broke 60 I don’t care what the timers say.

LAUREN GRANT PR’D IN THE 200 AND WON IT 27.54 HER PREVIOUS BEST FROM LAST WEEK WAS 27.64. wow reacts only. Julia Schultz ran the 200 and just wanted to beat her 29.00 seed time. She’s got serious wheels and can pace down to the 100m split. She ran 28.64: go Julia you’re a Rockstar. After missing all of outdoor, Ciara Ward ran under 30.00 with a time of 29.88! Her indoor best was 30.91 so shout out to Ciara for all the behind the scenes work she’s done on and off the track! 😀

In the men’s 200, Michael Jang showed us why he’s the GOAT travel coordinator by running 22.90. That exactly matches his PR from LAST year’s Club Peaks. Is Michael Jang a part of the Illuminati? Yes.

2018-2017=1.
1 x 22.90=22.90.
2+2+9+0=13.
13 reasons why.
Illuminati confirmed.

John Brandenburg PR’d by .37 seconds by running 23.61! His previous record was from last week. He’s progressed from 24.14 in 2016 to 23.61 that’s great.

In the women’s mile, Emily Foley took it out from the gun and never looked back. She finished in 5:31. Lexy Rudofski and Noel Brindise stuck together and Noel ran a 5 second PR! Megan Frintner finished her last race as a club member with a cartwheel across the line and a hug from her twin. They grow up so fast .

The men’s mile was my favorite race to see. It wasn’t because Mollway won, or Feldman got second. Not because Cody went sub 5 again or Matthew Beckerman ran 4:59.99. Yeah it was cool to see our beloved home meet coordinator race the old home meet coordinator. But I loved this race for Rhode. Andrew Rhode came up to me, the IXC President, at the beginning of the year and explained that he’s injured and won’t be training with this season. He bought a uniform, and I was convinced we just made 45$ and will never see this guy again. But we did see him. He’d be out there doing 2-4 mile days. Slowly, very slowly building his mileage back up. For a full 8 months this guy stayed patient while we were out hammering 40-80 mile weeks. And finally, after a 4:56 time trial last weekend, Rhode showed up in the uniform he bought in September and ran 4:45.73 for 6th. If you’re injured, you got a string of bad races or bad training, look at his logs. See what it’s like to persevere and struggle in silence with your eyes on the prize. I am so very proud of him. The other notable performance was Leonel. He gave his heart and soul and 1000 paper cranes for us and his racing. This isn’t the last you’ll see of him. I know that for sure.

In the long jump, Ashley Raehsler jumped once and never again. But I don’t blame her. You jump 5.18m (17’), break your own club record by .08, why keep going? She triple jumped as well and improved her mark from last week to 10.52m (34-06.25).

Inga in the shotput was quite the performance. She threw 9.99m on her final throw which is good enough for a #2 all time performance. She also threw 28.80m (94-06) in discus which puts her at the #1, #2, and #3 performances in club history. Erin McKee also threw 21.62m (70-11) in discus which is pretty awesome.

Thomas Nute came back after a knee injury and tossed 11.24m. Liam Nassib PR’d in the discus by .64m by throwing 33.34m.

All in all, it was a gorgeous day for a meet. A great close to many seasons and collegiate careers.

This is my mood right now.