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The Illinois Cross Country Club will kick off the post-season tomorrow at the NIRCA Great Plains Regional Championships in Ames, Iowa. The club travels to Iowa State for the first regional meet held in Iowa since 2012. It’s the team’s first NIRCA competition of the season as they’ll face a competitive field, highlighted by Minnesota, Iowa State, Wisconsin and Northwestern.

The Iowa State Cross Country Course was the first course in the US built exclusively for cross country. It has hosted NCAA national championships as well as regional and conference championships. The true cross country course will challenge athletes, mixing a flat grassy plain with a tough, hilly back loop through the Iowa State Arboretum.

The women’s team races first on Saturday and it has a history of dominance at Regionals. The Great Plains Regional began in 2011 and the women have won every single year.  Last time out at Parkside, several athletes step up to contribute to the top-seven. This weekend the women will be back at full strength and renewed depth, with senior women’s captain Emma Burkhardt and sophomore Anneliese Schulz returning. They’ll be joined at the front of the pack with freshman Emily Condic. Emily has put on a stellar first year run with the club and she’ll look to continue that success with her first NIRCA competition. Beyond them, sophomores Noel Brindise should go into Sunday with renewed confidence after strong races at Parkside. Sarah was the team’s second finisher and Noel rounded out the scoring five.

The men will look to win an ever-more competitive regional. A different team has won each of the last three years, but IXC has placed every year of competition, with the club’s last regional championship coming in 2014. Last year, IXC came in third behind Wisconsin and Iowa State. Senior Jared Ripoli is coming off a strong performance at UW-Parkside and sophomore Willy Wolf had a great regular season of competition. Sophomore Josh Feldman had a breakout race at last year’s NIRCA Nationals and has not looked back, placing in the team’s top three in every race this season.  Grad student Auburn Jimenez was the team’s top finisher at last year’s Regional, coming in sixth place for all-Regional honors.

The Illinois Cross Country Club had a successful Saturday at the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invite on October 8. By unofficial count, the men finished third and the women finished seventh. Several men had strong showings on the tough Parkside course while several new women rose into important new scoring roles.

For the first time this season, the men raced first on Saturday. Senior Jared “Big Red” Ripoli was the first runner across the line for IXC in 26:24. Jared is a Parkside veteran in every sense of the word, this year’s meet marked his tenth time running on the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course and he made his last ride count. Stellar sophomores Willy Wolf and Josh Feldman were second and third, continuing a strong run of races and clinching elusive top-25 Parkside t-shirts.

Junior Michael Frintner was fourth for the men in his best race of the season so far, a powerful performance before the chance to meet his idol in Chicago later that day. Senior David “Bam Bam” Choi was shortly behind Frintner to round out the scoring five.

Two new faces completed the men’s top seven in junior transfer Richard Skogsberg and true freshman Zach Mesplay. Richard had a solid run in his second race with the club. The Lewis transfer faced off against some former Great Lakes Valley Conference foes at Parkside. Mesplay has put together a strong string of practices and two good races in his first collegiate season. He’s the first freshman to finish in the men’s top seven this season. Freshman Mackenzie Bach, beater on the Illinois quidditch team, also had a strong race to finish as the team’s eighth man.

Two years ago, it was love at first sight for senior Tyler Dixon upon arrival at the Dannehl course in Kenosha. It was a fitting farewell to Parkside for Tyler. He’s a fan of the tough, hilly course and he cruised into a strong 28:43 finish with his parents and grandma cheering him on. Freshman Jacob Anderson also just keeps on dropping time, as he improved again at Parkside, running 50 seconds faster than Augustana despite the much tougher terrain.

In the women’s race, several new runners made waves by stepping up into the top seven. Two of the women’s top runners this season, senior captain Emma Burkhardt and sophomore Anneliese Schulz, did not compete at Parkside. The women also had to adapt to a last-minute lengthening of the race, run as a 6K instead of a 5K.

Freshman Emily Condic was the first finisher for the women’s team. After a good night’s sleep at her home in Lake Forest, Emily ran a strong race to finish 21^st in 23:44. In her season debut, sophomore Sarah Folliard had a fantastic race to finish as the team’s second runner. Senior Allison Gibson, who has become a top seven stalwart, was the third finisher for the women. Junior Erin McKee, now back on US soil, has also become a steady top seven contributor. She’s scored for the women in every meet so far this season.

The race of the day belonged to the women’s fifth runner, sophomore Noel “Schnellmädchen” Brindise. Noel ran a huge PR and silenced any self-doubts in a 26:23 finish. With some top runners out for the women, she answered the call with a great race.

Junior Jillian Monier came in just behind Noel to finish as the team’s sixth runner and junior Vicky Dent was seventh, her top-seven debut in her first season with the team. She also joined Emily as the second Lake Forest alumni in the top seven.

Freshman Jen Lemke had a huge PR, dropping over a minute and twenty seconds to run 26:54. Sophomore Anastasia Rodriguez and senior Hannah Behle finished within a second of each other for strong season debuts and freshman Riley Maloney made her collegiate racing debut.

The club’s performances wouldn’t have been possible without the generous help of several club parents. Thank you to the Ripolls, Brindises, Shims, Condics, Frintners, O’Neils and Dents for hosting and feeding IXC on Friday night before the meet. Special thanks to the Frintners, Condics and Kennedys for hosting team members before an early morning of volunteering at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. A shout-out is also due to all of the supporters who came up to Kenosha to cheer on the team, we greatly appreciate the support.

Parkside marks the final race of the regular season for the club. Postseason NIRCA competition begins with the Great Plains Regional Championships on Sunday, October 23 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. IXC will toe the line against all-club competition for the first time this season. After Regionals, IXC will head to Hershey, Pennsylvania for the NIRCA National Championships on Saturday, November 12.

The Illinois Cross Country Club competed at the Augustana Brismann-Lundeen Invitational on Friday, September 23. In a strong showing, the men finished seventh and the women finished fourteenth overall. The race was split this year, and IXC competed in the Blue division, reserved for last season’s top 20 teams. While the first meet of the season was unusually cool, it was hot on the Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill. as the club mixed it up with the meet’s perennially strong competition.

The men’s team improved from an eleventh place finish last year to take seventh. Once again, sophomore Willy “Weem” Wolf led the way for the club, highlighting the team’s “young talent.” Senior David “Cliff” Choi was the next runner for IXC, capping off his Augustana career on a high note. His sophomore year, the Brismann-Lundeen was David’s breakout performance, his first top-seven finish, and he hasn’t looked back. Last year though, David tragically lost his shoe during the race, so his time and place were never recorded. This year, David managed to keep his shoe on in one of his top finishes for the club. Sophomore Josh Feldman finished three seconds behind David in another strong performance.

Senior Jared Ripoli rounded out the top five for the men in his final run at Augustana. Just behind was grad student Auburn Jimenez, making his season debut for the club. “The King of Campus” will fill the club’s token graduate student role this season left behind by departed elder statesman Bradford Coyle. Junior Michael Frintner made his return to the top-seven as the team’s seventh runner after a NIRCA All-American finish at Nationals last year.

Michael Gerkin had a strong debut; he was the team’s eighth runner in 27:23. Gerkin was familiar with the Saukie Golf Course, as he attended an Augustana meet last year on an official visit, but IXC was able to win the recruiting battle for the elusive Gerkin.  Freshman Mackenzie Bach also put together a solid debut in 27:51. In his second collegiate race, freshman Jacob Anderson saw a massive improvement. The Crystal Lake product dropped nearly three minutes off his time from EIU.

Shout-outs are also due to the athletes who made their club debuts at Augustana:  junior transfer Richard Skogsberg, freshman Alan Zhou and freshman Jarrod “Rod” Meyer.

On the women’s side, savvy senior Emma Burkhardt finished first for the women. The women’s captain was once again closely followed by sophomore Anneliese Schulz.  Freshman Emily Condic was third for the women, representing the third part of the women’s front-running triple threat.

In her second race with the team, senior Ellie Palacios was fourth. Junior Erin McKee finished as the team’s fifth runner once again. She has been going steady as a scoring contributor since returning from a semester abroad last spring. Senior Hannah Smith and sophomore Jillian Monier completed the women’s top seven.

Noel Brindise had a solid season debut and Megan Frintner put in a solid follow-up effort in her second race of the season. Freshman Jennifer Lemke also made her club debut.

The club races next at UW-Parkside’s Lucian Rosa Invite on Saturday, October 8. The meet is held in Kenosha, Wisconsin, a short drive from Chicago, so we hope to see plenty of support for IXC!

The Illinois Cross Country Club will compete at the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invite this weekend in Kenosha, Wis. The meet is held on the Wayne E. Dannehal National Cross Country Course, a difficult course o’er hill and dale that will challenge runners. Last year, IXC impressed at this meet as the men finished third and the women finished fifth.

The men will look to build on two strong showings at the season’s first two races. Last year, grad student Auburn Jimenez was the team’s top finisher. This season, sophomore Willy Wolf will look to continue his hot start to the season on the team’s most challenging course yet. Head coach Ryan Somerfield has had a history of success at Parkside, he had a breakout race in Kenosha his sophomore year. But no one on the team has more history at Parkside than senior Jared Ripoli. Jared will be racing on the Dannehal course for the tenth time and will look to leave a strong final impression. Last year, he finished twelvth as the team’s second man.

Last season, it was a record-breaking performance for women’s captain Megan Mocogni- she smashed the club’s 5K record in a third place overall finish. Last year, the veteran-laden squad showed off its pack at this meet, this year, there’s opportunity for a new look women’s team to step up. Some of the women’s top runners this season will not compete on Saturday, so behind consistent contributors like senior Allison Gibson, the door is open for new faces.  Sophomore Jillian Monier made her season debut last week and started her season in the top seven, and high school teammate/junior Erin McKee could also make a splash.

The men go off tomorrow morning at 10, and the women follow at 11. Kenosha is a short drive from Chicago, so we hope to see lots of support for IXC at the meet!

The Illinois Cross Country Club team ran at the competitive Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invite on Friday night. The women of IXC took 14th and the men placed seventh. The field was split into two races for the first time this year and the club competed in the Blue division, reserved for last year”s top 20 teams.

Women”s captain Emma Burkhardt was the first finisher for the women”s team in 23:43. She was closely followed by sophomore Anneliese Schulz in 23:48. Freshman Emily Condic was third in her first 6K after a standout debut at EIU. Senior Ellie Palacios was fourth and junior Erin McKee was fifth for the women. Senior Hannah Smith and sophomore Jillian Monier completed the top seven.

Sophomore Willy Wolf led the charge once again for the men with a 30th place finish in 26:19. Senior stalwart David Choi was second, closely followed by sophomore Josh Feldman. A strong kick propelled senior Jared Ripoli into the fourth spot and grad student Auburn Jimenez rounded out the scoring five in his season debut. Head coach Ryan Somerfield was sixth and junior Michael Frintner was the seventh man.

The club returns to action in two weeks at the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invitational on October 8. It”s a short drive from Chicago so we hope to see your support there.

The Illinois Cross Country Club is back in action this weekend at the Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invitational. The women race at 4:30 and the men go off at 5:15. The invite always promises a strong field of competition for all levels. After a promising start to the season, IXC is ready to race again on the speedy Saukie Golf Course.

New this year, the collegiate race has been split into two divisions to avoid overcrowding. Last year 50 teams competed in the meet as the IXC women took sixth and the men finished 11^th. As a top-20 team from last year, IXC will race in the Blue division. The elusive meet t-shirts will now be handed out to the top-20 finishers in each race.

Last year, Jared Ripoli led the team at Augustana, taking 30^th. Both Jared and Michael Frintner PR’d by over 30 seconds as the team’s top-two finishers. The 2015 Brismann-Lundeen also marked the debut of Arturo Woodward-Montes and Justin Shim, two sophomores who finished in the top-7 last time out at EIU. Several athletes will make their IXC debuts in Rock Island, Ill. including Michael Gerkin and Richard Skogsberg. Freshman Zach Mesplay has looked strong in workouts and will look to build on a solid outing at EIU.

It’s the first 6K of the year for the women’s team. Last year the team turned heads with an outstanding performance at this meet, highlighted by a blazing seventh-place finish from former women’s captain Megan Mocogni. This Friday, freshman Emily Condic will compete in her first-ever 6K after a strong showing at EIU. Sophomore Jillian Monier, who finished in the top seven at Augustana last year, will make her season debut.

Friday night is an excellent opportunity for fast times for everyone competing. Check back here for more updates on the team’s performance at Augustana.

The Illinois Cross Country Club opened up its 2016 campaign on Friday with a successful showing at Eastern Illinois’ Walt Crawford Open. The men finished third and the women finished fifth overall. IXC’s performances were marked by two words: young talent. Eight of the fourteen top-seven finishers were freshmen or sophomores, including three of the men’s scoring five.

Freshman Emily Condic was the first finisher for the women, running in her first-ever 5K. It’s only her second cross country season and she made the most of her debut. Perhaps most promising for the team is that the three women in the front pack all finished within one second of each other. Sophomore Anneliese Schulz, coming off a strong track season, finished just 0.08 seconds behind Emily. Senior women’s captain Emma Burkhardt was just behind as the team’s third finisher.

The top five was rounded out by some savvy veterans. Senior Allison Gibson was the fourth for the team in her first cross country action since a strong performance at NIRCA Nationals last fall. Junior Erin McKee was the final scorer, back on the course after a semester overseas en España. Erin was the team’s fourth runner at Nationals her freshman year, and now back on US soil, she’ll look to contribute once again for the women’s side.

Two more newcomers completed the women’s top-seven. Senior Ellie Palacios was sixth for the team in her IXC debut and freshman Callie Rukavina was seventh in her first collegiate race.
The men’s third place effort was spearheaded by underclassmen. Leading the charge for IXC were sophomores Willy Wolf and Josh Feldman. Last time out on the XC course, they were the two freshmen to run in the top-seven for the club at Nationals, both finishing in the top-five. Willy set a new PR with his finish as the first finisher and Feldman followed up on a stellar race at Nationals last year. After a strong track season, it looks like they’re ready to make a strong impact in cross country.

Senior David Choi came in shortly after Josh to finish third. Behind him came a fellow civil engineer with one of the day’s highlights. Young Arturo Woodward-Montes looked great as the team’s fourth runner. The DC product set a big PR (shaving off a few seconds after shaving a gross-looking mustache) and after a disappointing race at last year’s Nationals, he looks ready to take 2016 by storm.

Senior Jared Ripoli rounded out the scoring five for the men. Another pair of sophomores finished out the top-seven. Jared’s high school teammate Justin Shim followed as the sixth finisher in one of his strongest races for the club and Leonel “El Léon Loco” Rodreguez was seventh.

Freshman Zach Mesplay made a strong debut for the team, running 27:44 for his first collegiate 8K in his return to EIU after last spring’s State Track Meet. Freshman Cody Lund broke his season goal by running 28:43. Last season marked the first time in the last four years that two brothers raced together for IXC in Willy and graduated Henry Wolf. This year featured three siblings racing together. It was a family affair for the Frintners as Sean “Crunchy” Frintner made his collegiate debut alongside brother Michael and sister Megan.

Several newly-minted IXC athletes kicked off their career at EIU. Leah Ziolkowski, Vicky Dent and Veronica Deane all toed the line for the club for the first time on Friday. For the men, Eli Walker, Alex “Balloon Man” Hanskat, Evan Patel, Brendan Stonequist, Jeff Abbott, Jacob Anderson and Ryan Fitzgerald all raced for the first time as members of IXC. Congratulations to all the newcomers on their inaugural race with the club.

The team returns to action on September 23 at Augustana’s Brissman-Lundeen Invitational. The large field always promises strong competition at every level and the team will spend the next few weeks preparing for the gun to go off in Rock Island, Ill.

The Illinois Cross Country Club started the season at Eastern Illinois on Friday night with a successful showing at the Walt Crawford Open. Conditions were much more favorable than years past and athletes took advantage with several strong performances.

The women”s race was highlighted by a tight front pack. Newcomer Emily Condic shone in her first collegiate race as the team”s No. 1 runner. She ran 19:30 in her second-ever 5K. Senior Emma Burkhardt, the team”s top returner, came in as the second runner and sophomore Anneliese Schulz was just behind as the third finisher. Two veterans rounded out the scoring five in senior Allison Gibson and junior Erin McKee.

The men were led by their young talent. Three of the top five finishers were sophomores. Sophomore Willy Wolf led the charge in 26:35 on a course he”s become very familiar with. He was followed by fellow sophomore Josh Feldman. The two were the only freshmen in the men”s A-race for the team at Nationals, and they look poised to make another jump this year. They were followed by senior David Choi, who cemented himself as a top seven stalwart last year. Sophomore Arturo Woodward-Montes had a breakout race to finish as the team”s fourth man with a huge PR. Senior Jared Ripoli, a NIRCA All-American in 2014, completed the scoring five.

The club returns to action in three weeks at the Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invite on Sept. 23.

Note: IXC Now is a quick post-race recap of the team’s top finishes. A full recap highlighting all of the team’s great performances in-depth is still to come. 

A new season has arrived for the Illinois Cross Country Club. After a great fall campaign last year, the season didn’t end the way the team wanted. Both the men’s and women’s teams have been working hard through track season and the summer to prepare for a fall full of promise.

The men’s team is loaded with experience and young talent, bringing back six of the seven athletes from last season’s top seven. Junior Michael Frintner is the top returner, coming off a second-team All-American performance at NIRCA Nationals. Other returners include sophomore Josh Feldman, who had a breakout race at Nationals, sophomore William Wolf, senior David Choi and senior Ryan Somerfield. Senior Jared Ripoli also returns for the men this fall. Jared will look to become the first IXC athlete ever to compete in the A-race at Nationals in all four years of his college career. He was the team’s second finisher at Nationals in 2014, earning second team All-American honors.

Also back is grad student Auburn Jimenez, who raced in a limited capacity last year. Auburn was the club’s top man at Augustana last fall, and he should be at the front of the pack in a full season of competition.

Plus, junior Quinn Todzo looks poised to make a splash after a phenomenal track season where he and a strong summer of training. He has consistently improved every season with the team. The team also has a talented group of incoming freshmen waiting to prove themselves over the course of the season.

There’s more unknown on the women’s team. Three athletes return from last year’s top seven in senior Emma Burkhardt, sophomore Anneliese Schulz and senior Allison Gibson.  Emma is the top returner and she’ll be looking to end her cross country career with a bang this season. After demonstrating a lot of potential all season, including a tenth place finish at Regionals, she’ll look to make some noise on the national level. Anneliese put together a strong track season and Allison impressed at last year’s Nationals, finishing as the team’s sixth runner.

There’s plenty of opportunity this season for women to step up and make an impact, and there are a lot of options.  Junior Erin McKee is back after a semester in Europe and she’ll be poised for a strong season. She was the team’s fourth finisher at Nationals in 2014. Senior Hannah Behle was the team’s top finisher in the Women’s B-race last year. There’s also a big group of promising new recruits. Look for a lot of different contributors for the women’s team this season.

A new face will be leading the club this season. Senior Ryan Somerfield is the fourth coach in program history after spending last season as an assistant to previous head coach Steve Krauklis. He follows Steve (2014-2015), Mark Hayes (2012-2013) and Jacob Englander (2008-2011) in the position.

The team will race in five meets this season, starting this weekend at Eastern Illinois. Next up is a trip to Rock Island for the always competitive Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invite and a swing up to Wisconsin to race on a true cross country course at the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invite. The postseason brings a new wrinkle to the IXC schedule. After hosting the NIRCA Great Plains Regional for the last three years, the team will head to Iowa State for the meet for the first time since 2012. The grand finale and ultimate goal of the season comes at the NIRCA National Championships, back in Hershey, Penn. for the first time since 2013.

The Illinois Cross Country Club kicks off its 2016 campaign tonight at the EIU Walt Crawford Open. Several freshmen will make their collegiate debuts as the team gets things rolling against teams from Division I through junior college. The Panther Trail is usually made more formidable by sweltering heat, but tonight’s forecast looks cooler than usual in Charleston, Ill.

Last year at EIU, the conditions were so poor that the meet was shortened to four miles. Jared Ripoli led the way for IXC, establishing the club record in the four-mile run and finishing tenth overall and David Choi established himself in the lead pack as the second finisher.

Jack Morrissey has finished in the men’s top seven in each of his past three races at EIU. He’ll look to complete the quadruple tonight.  Last year, Leonel Rodriguez put on a strong debut and he’ll look for a repeat performance this fall.

Several new freshmen will make their debut on Friday night in their first chance to race a collegiate 8K. Eli Walker, Brendan Stonequist and Jeff Abbott are a few of the names racing for the first time with IXC after a solid start to collegiate training. Also debuting will be Sean Frintner, the younger brother of top returner Michael Frintner. Michael shone at his collegiate debut at EIU in 2014 as the team’s third runner, tonight his brother will get his first chance to represent the club.

Emma Burkhardt is the top returning woman from this meet last year, where she finished as the team’s fourth runner. Junior Erin McKee and senior Allison Gibson finished sixth and seventh respectively. Erin will have her first chance to compete since last year’s Nationals after a semester abroad in the spring.

EIU will also be the first competition for many newcomers on the women’s side and the meet will provide the first look at which new recruits will contribute this season. Freshman Emily Condic put together a strong summer of training and senior Ellie Palacios should also make a splash.

The course is flat and favorable, and with some luck, the conditions will be more manageable than in years past. It provides a good introduction to collegiate cross country for all the newcomers and it will take strategy to succeed in the heat. The women go off at 4:45 and the men start at 5:30 to begin a new season of IXC.