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With school a few days away, the Illinois Track Club had their top athletes in the Illinois Open in the friendly confines of the armory. With plenty of volunteers to spectate, Emily Foley, Becky Haight, and Keith Lee had plenty of people to cheer them on.

The Saturday started with Emily Foley running 5:28.46 in the mile with remarkably even splits. Look for something fast at Club Relays, this woman is on a mission. More than anything, it shows that she is fit and ready to tackle the indoor season. A month ago, she ran 5:37 and here we are, 9 seconds faster.

Becky Haight is probably one of the most consistently dominant sprinters our club has ever had. Indoor, outdoor, early or late season, she can keep churning out quality performances. In the 200, she took 2nd in her heat in 26.41 for 11th overall. This is her fastest time on a 200m track which is easily missed if one just looks at the raw numbers. In the 60m, she ran 8.19, good for 17th in a field of 27 women.

In 2015, Keith Lee, a senior at Urbana High School, ran 1:57.70 to take 7th place in the Illinois 2A State Meet. Being an All-State brings great pressure to keep performing. Since joining our club, he had not broken the 2:00 barrier. His best club time as of this morning was 2:00.10. A quarter step separated him from sub 2:00 in an Illinois singlet. Now the Mid-D coach for one of the deepest Mid-D squads in NIRCA, he has to lead by example. Today, he finally ran under 2:00 in a time of 1:59.61. This is his fastest indoor time by almost a second. If my math is correct, (and I got an A- in MATH241), he’s gonna blast the outdoor 800. A big congratulation goes to Keith Lee on his performance. It’s very, very well deserved.

Special thanks to all those who volunteered, your services are greatly appreciated! Enjoy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!”,2018-01-13 19:35:00+00,Indoor
154,Muneeb Ansari,ITFC Races Early at EIU,”After winter of training, several ITFC athletes attended the EIU John Craft Invitational in Charleston, Illinois.

Notable performances included Lauren Grant, a staple athlete in sprint practices and meets, who ran 1:03.45 in her indoor 400. By itself, that time is impressive. But considering that this is 2 seconds faster than her outdoor best of 1:05.38, I think we might see some exciting 4×4”s in her future.

The women”s 800m run featured several athletes including Freshmen Maggie Madden (3:08.99) and Angela Wu (3:26.69). The stage is set for them to get quality training under their belt and perform well at Club Relays and beyond. Be on the lookout for Maggie Madden this season, her consistency at practice and even when she cannot make it to practice gives a lot of hope to her teammates. Emily Foley ran a phenomenal race in 2:27.83, leading from wire to wire. She came through the 600m mark in about 1:49.46 which, by itself, would put her top 10 all time for our club. This. Girl. Is. On. Fire.

On the men”s side, Thomas Harris ran his 2nd fastest 60m dash in 7.37 and his 2nd fastest 200 m in 23.73. John Kellum lead the group of 800m runners winning his heat in 2:04.25. He said ‘”it wasn”t fast, really. But I executed my race plan. It was a great measure to see how much XC has helped me without any speed work'”. Give this man some fast intervals, @Richard, he”ll be on fire. Zack Fishman (2:09), Beau Barber (2:16) and Patrick Willhalm (2:13) found their baseline times. I”ve got my eye on Patrick Willhalm. A consistent XC runner, this man is made for the 400/800 races. He has been training over break and has a stride longer than most. More importantly, this guy competes and loves to push the pace. It”s guys with that sort of passion that make track and field so fun to watch.

In the long Jump, Doug Howard and Justin Nebel had quite a day jumping 6.20m and 6.12m, respectively. These two are on fire and those jumps would put them 2nd and 4th at 2017”s Club Relays and 7th and 8th at Nationals. I”m trying to contain myself, but I might just jump (he he) for joy.

Next week will see a big delegation going to IWU for the Titan Open. We”re about a month away from CLUB RELAYS!!!! Also, I finally figured out how to set up our Instagram so follow us @illinitrackclub. Like the pictures we post because I get notifications on my phone and people will think I”m popular.

Christmas came early for ITFC in the form of 3 wins and 2 new club records. Many sprinters and middle-distance runners attended Illinois Wesleyan University’s Titan First Chance Invitational after months of stale armory air and intense training.

In the women’s 60m dash, veterans Becky Haight and Kaleigh Evans ran PRs of 8.10 (new club record) and 8.76, respectively. Newcomers Dalemarie Johannesson (9.29) and Jasmine Williams (8.64) showed that their fall training block was not for nothing. Jasmine has been involved with the club a great deal at social events, practice, and volunteering opportunities.

In the 200m, Coach Haight won in a time of 26.56. She is very fast and will be getting faster. Her athletes Jasmine (28.50), Ciara Ward (30.91) and Dalemarie (31.42) have lots to look forward to as well.

IWU offers a 300m run because this is America and we run whatever we want. Lauren Grant came through as the top Illinois runner in 45.97. Shout out to both Dalemarie and Ciara who ran the 200m and 300m.

After a big week of applying to graduate schools, Emily Foley showed that she’s on the hunt for a big mile PR. Being the lone woman in the chase pack, she ran a new club PR of 5:37.79. This senior is going out with a bang.

In the 4x400m relay, Becky Haight, Kaleigh Evans, Lauren Grant, and Jasmine Williams got 4th with 4:19.13. These ladies were running on tired legs as each of them had run at least one race before.

U of I’s pole vault crew was represented by Ciara Ward (8’ 8.25”) and Kat Leiner (9th in 9’ 2.25”).

The men’s races were highlighted by Justin Nebel. He had a big day running 7.39 in the 60m dash and winning (!) the long jump. On his second attempt, he put himself 6 inches past second place and into club history. He is now the best long jumper with 22’ 3.5”, a foot over jump coach Lopez’s mark. His mark would have won last year’s NIRCA national meet by 24 centimeters.

The 60m dash showcased new faces including Shantanu Amin (10.39), Tyler Muckian (7.83), and Evan Sacks (8.19). Thomas Harris also ran 7.46 and was recognized by Coach Haight for having the best attendance at practice this month. That sort of dedication carries our team to the next level.

Taking a strong leadership role this year, Mateusz Lopez has a lot on his plate. Managing a general body of over 100 athletes with issues of money, space requests, social events, team bonding, competition, and travel is hard to say the least. But these responsibilities have not shaken this All-American as he won the 200m in 23.29. In 11th place was Thomas Harris in 24.00 as well as Tyler Muckian (26.52) and Evan Sacks (27.71). You can’t help but feel excited when you see dedicated members finally getting their chance to compete and grow.

As if a full lap at full speed wasn’t fun enough, both Thomas and Evan competed in the 300m as well. If IWU offered a 400 I bet they’d run that too.

Mid Distance Coach Keith Lee has some big boots to fill. After last year’s men’s 4×400 won the National Title in 3:18.47 (all returners) and went sub 8:00 and sub 10:00 in the 4×8, there’s not that much room for improvement. Beau Barber explained how the training this year is much more speed based with 150m buildups and plenty of fast moving.

In the 600m, Keith Lee ran 1:24.84 to take 4th place in the meet and 4th in the club leaderboards. His athletes Zack Fishman (1:30.24) and Tim Plomin (1:30.46) look sharp and ready to bring some fire in middle distance races. Tim is a real newcomer to the sport, having ran track only once before. But if he is already running 90 second 600s in December and battling it out with veteran mid distance runners like Zack, I think he’ll find that this is his sport.

The lone cross-country runner, Josh Mollway ran 4:29 in the mile to win his heat by 8 seconds. After a week of low-mileage, he’s ready to get into the swing of track season.

Connor murphy ran 9.41 in the 60m high hurdles and qualified for finals where he finished 7th in a time of 9.43. A true renaissance man, he also pole vaulted 13’ 5.25”.

The 4x400m relay of Tyler Splitt, Beau Barber, Tim Plomin, and Zack Fishman took 9th in 3:40.42. Tyler Muckian and Mateusz Lopez also competed in the triple jump hitting 38’ 1.5” and 41’ 5”, respectively. Lopez was the national runner-up last year in this event and, if Muckian sticks with it, we could see two All-Americans from our happy little club.

ITFC prepares for a big block of solo training over winter break and then many more races to come, including the annual Illinois Club Relays meet on February 24th.

Results

A week out from Thanksgiving, ITFC had a lot to be thankful for. The distance runners sat gratefully for a fast and fun Nationals performance. Sprinters, jumpers, and throwers were eagerly counting down the days until their first competition in December. 

But this Thursday was about remembering one of ITFC’s greats: Sean Berbert. Some cultures remember the passed with prayer. Some with charity or songs or stories. We remember our own with 400 meters of running. The perfect nexus between sprinters and distance runners, almost all of ITFC ran 400m that night. 

Sprinters lead by Coach Becky Haight took the race seriously with a coordinated warm up and four-point starts. The distance runners, well, most are still enjoying their time off.

The night started out with the combined 1600 meter run. Josh Mollway and Alex Hanskat battled it out in the final lap. Mollway pulled ahead to run 4:33 after a slow 72-second start. Hanskat was 2 seconds behind in 4:35 to run a PR. On the women’s side, Emily Foley ran a club PR of 5:38. Look out for this Mid-D senior to take our women’s team to new heights in the 800 and 1500/mile. After a breakout cross country season, Noel Brindise dropped 9 seconds to a new PR of 5:45.

The distance 400s were like stuffing in a turkey: ugly and clunky but the night wouldn’t be the same without it. Daniel Engel ran a 61.05 PR. Catch him at his local turkey trot 5k running hard after a long climb from injury. The male sprinters were lead by the President of the Illinois Track and Field Club (POTITFC) Mateusz Lopez (52.01). Close behind him were returners Alex Bienduga (52.05), Head Coach Tyler Splitt (52.08), and Garrett Barch (52.81). Lopez took 9th in the 200 last year at NIRCA Track Nationals, Barch took 11th in the 100, Bienduga was 11th in the 400, and Splitt was 12th in the 400. These heavy hitting sprinters are coming in hot this season, don’t blink or you’ll miss them. Another promising sprinter is Andy Marszewski (52.92). From Downers Grove North, he boasts PRs of 49.79, 23.50, and 10.98. He also ran 18:59 in the 3 mile but this cross-country president is not holding his breath for him.

The women sprinters are a young group. Most are new to the group and Coach Haight says “there is a lot of promise beyond just the performances last week and we are looking forward to a strong season starting with Early Bird next month.”. ITFC will be competing at the Titan First Chance Meet on December 2nd. Big things coming, stay tuned.

Sprinter results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DdIdyk0nBp4i-7aHf34zwc4JLgYf2DOHQ1b8MOGv3IM/edit#gid=162292564

Distance results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OYE3I_vfBbwjed3w3bLjMPUnBFCQf2Y0DTT3p_ipBDA/edit#gid=2077653293

The 2017 NIRCA Nationals proved a fruitful trip for IXC. Numerous athletes not only PR’d, but ran standout races. The day was composed of six heats. Let’s break them down.

Men’s Jr/Sr/Grad

Though freezing temperatures, the still wind made for manageable conditions for the day’s first race. For many IXC athletes, it would be their last Nationals.

Senior Austin Kuehr capped off his IXC career with a strong race. Keuhr ran consistent splits averaging about 5:50 per mile. Throughout the second half of the race he passed 25 runners to finish 45th overall in 29:23.

“This season I”ve been working on improving my race strategy of starting out conservatively and making a move in the second half of the race.” Said Kuehr, “I think I was finally able to pull that off at Nats.”

This was Kuehr’s first nationals race scoring for the Men’s Jr/Sr/Grad squad.

“Not a mind-blowing, spectacular race or anything, but a great way to end my ten years of cross country.” Said Kuehr in an online log.

Junior Leonel Rodriguez has struggled with bronchitis throughout his IXC career, and though the cold air did not help, he showed an enormous effort at Nationals, finishing 16th in 27:47.

Rodriguez says that lung problems made the race extremely difficult, though decided not to drop out. He even made surges in the last kilometer, passing competitors as he approached the finish.

Rodriguez ran even splits throughout the race, taking it out in 5:30/M pace and slowed down only slightly, averaging 5:35/M pace overall.

Women’s Jr/Sr/Grad

Junior Anastasia Rodriguez, who did not even run Nationals last year, ran a phenomenal race on Saturday in 26:57 and 27th place. Rodriguez (no relation to Leonel) capped off a great season with her performance.

“It went pretty good,” said Rodriguez, “I think I ended the season pretty strong and I’m ready for next season to be even better.”

Rodriguez ran with Junior Sara Folliard and Senior Andrea Arriaga for much of the race, though surged ahead and maintained distance with Senior Erin McKee. Like many today, this was Anastasia’s first cross country Nationals.

Arriaga, a senior who joined the club only this year, ran another PR on Saturday in 28:26. In her first and last year with IXC, she has seen steady improvement. Starting at 29:41 at the Aurora Spartan Invite, she has PR’d every race, with Nationals being a six second PR.
Although Arriaga had ankle pain at Regionals, she recovered enough for a good season’s end.

Another strong performance came from Senior Mariela Marquez. Despite struggling with injury this season, Marquez placed 65th place [28:44]. Marquez got out in 7:35/M pace and settled into 63rd place by mile three, holding her ground until the finish.

Men’s Championship

“…from the University of Illinois, William Wolf!” Says the NIRCA official to a chorus of IXC cheers. Wolf walks to the stage to receive his first All-American medal. Hours ago, he had just placed 30th, securing the final All-American spot.

“I’d say it was a pretty good race,” said Wolf, “it was good to see I made it because I wasn’t sure where I placed.”

The championship men ran tough in their final race this season, giving it their all in frigid temperatures and damp course conditions.

The men got out conservatively in the first mile, packing together tightly and saving energy for the final miles of the race. Runners Josh Mollway, William Wolf, Brian Butcher, and Josh Feldman packed together, with a pack of Quinn Todzo, Connor Farrell, and Eli Walker close behind.

All the top 7 runners came through the first mile considerably behind the competition, though steadily passed competitors throughout miles 2 and 3. Feldman moved up 56 places from mile 2 to 3, moving to 41st place.

The strategy was one embraced by Head Coach Richard Skogsberg. “We weren’t sure if they were running smart or just running slow. It turns out, they were running smart.” Said Skogsberg.

Right after mile three, Mollway felt something strange. His shoe, slipping off his heel, was now about to completely slide off his foot. Mollway kicked the shoe to the side of the course and continued on.

“It was something I had to accept and not let it tarnish the end of my race,” said Mollway in an online log, “I ended up with a 30 sec PR… …so at the end of the day I’m not complaining.”

Frost, patches of mud, and freezing conditions were not forgiving on Mollway’s right foot. He however demonstrated great mental maturity by regaining his focus on the competition and surging in the last 800 meters.

Mollway finished in 37th [26:22] with Butcher [26:26], coming close behind in 48th. Feldman came through in 59th with 26:39 with Todzo rounding out the top 5 in 101st place and 27:14.

Todzo’s dedication to IXC showed in his strong performance today. A former wrestler, he has come a long way since his freshman year when he ran 30:18 at the same course.

The boys finished 8th overall in the team scores.

Women’s Championship

25:35. The last time Sophomore Riley Maloney ran that time, it was for a 5k in high school. At Saturday’s NIRCA National meet, Maloney ran the same time for a 6k. A remarkable showing of the most improved athletes on the team.

“When I came down that finish stretch, and I saw my time, I couldn’t stop smiling,” said Maloney in an online log, “and as I finished, I just couldn’t stop crying tears of joy.”

This was Maloney’s first Nationals meet, and first season as a member of the women’s top seven squad.

The IXC women were missing two of their top performers Saturday: Noel Brindise and Erin Kainrath. Noel and Erin both suffered injuries after Regionals and could not attend Nationals. The team still managed to finish 11th.

Leading the way was IXC women’s MVP Julia Schultz, who, placing 31st, came within 3 seconds of being All-American.

Schultz [23:54] was followed by Gender Minority Captain Anneliese Schulz [24:01], Vicky Dent [24:55], Riley Maloney [25:35], Anna Piazza [25:52], and Tiffany Yathaputanon [26:52].

Though Schulz did not have her best race of the season, she said she was proud of how her teammates ran.

“This was a great course and even if I ran kind of an average race there were so many other girls that ran very well.” Said Schulz.

Junior Dent ran her first ‘A’ race at Nationals on Saturday and showed a marked improvement from one year ago. Her time on Saturday is 1:35 faster than her time of 26:30 from last year’s Nationals in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In her first season on the women’s top seven, Dent has consistently run strong races.

Dent ran another PR today, beating her previous of 25:03 from Regionals.

Another Junior, Yathaputanon, ran her first Nationals and her first race as a member of IXC women’s top seven in her first season with IXC. Yathaputanon is known for her middle-distance running in track, competing on the women’s 4×800 at track Nationals and nearly breaking the club 4×800 record.

This season she has seen a significant increase in weekly mileage as she adapted to the cross-country training.

“It was a new experience and I’ll definitely consider doing it next year.” Said Yathaputanon in an online log.

Men’s Fr/So

The sun had picked up, and so did the wind. So too, did many of IXC’s youngest.

As Olan Bruyere ran past the IXC camp, comments fizzled about how smooth his form looked, how confident he was running. We could tell he was running well, but could anyone have predicted a 69 second PR?

At 32:20, Bruyere has achieved his initial goal of breaking 33 minutes. His previous best of 33:29 came at Regionals just three weeks earlier, and his best before that 34:14 at Parkside. What a season for this freshman!

Another runner with remarkable improvements has been Sophomore Jarod Meyer. The IXC 2017 story could not be told without including Meyer. On Saturday, he dropped nearly a minute from his 8k PR, running 28:04 and 24th in the race.

Meyer, like Bruyere, has gotten magnitudes faster this season. His 8k times have dropped from 30:05 to 29:21 to 28:04. Meyer attributes his performance to letting go of fear and taking risks during the race.

“I saw him pass me, and I thought I was mistaken. I was like ‘Is that Jarod!?’” Said Sophomore Evan Patel, who finished 19th in 27:58.

The sophomore class represented themselves well Saturday. Sophomore Daniel Engel moved up consistently throughout the race to run 29:42, a 1:20 PR! This is only Engel’s second 8k as an IXC member.

IXC Head Coach Richard Skogsberg attributes Meyer and Engel’s success to their persistence.

“People like Jarod, Daniel, and Riley can teach you a lot. All three of them have had rough seasons before, but stuck it out.” Said Skogsberg, “So, anyone who doesn’t feel like their training is paying off, they should really just keep at it, because a race like Jarod’s may be just around the corner.”

Women’s Fr/So

After a day of breakout races from an IXC runner in every race, the final race brought the exclamation point: Sophomore Leah Ziolkowski.

“I made a rule for myself to just show up and run a steady race,” said Ziolkowski, “Little did I know this would lead me to set a personal record by nearly a minute!”

Ziolkowski improved her previous PR of 27:14 by 58 seconds on Saturday, running 26:16 and finishing 36th overall. She says her breakout performance came as a pleasant surprise.

“After two unsuccessful races, [Lucian Rosa & Regionals] I was unbelievably ready to throw in the towel. It took weeks of encouragement and support from my teammates for me to even consider signing up for Nationals.” Said Ziolkowski, “I am overwhelmingly thankful they did.”

Following Leah in 26:18 was freshman Grace McDonough. McDonough is new to the team and has progressed with every race. On Saturday, she ran a remarkable 3:17 PR.

McDonough ran her second three-minute PR of the season. Her previous PR was 29:32 at the Great Plains Regionals, with her next best a 32:39 at the Lucian Rosa Invite. At this rate, who knows what she is capable of in the future?

“I”m going to tell every freshman her story next year and will never forget her progression.” Said President Muneeb Ansari.

Final Notes:

Ansari, along with Schulz and Skogsberg, has devoted hours of their own time every week to make the club function as well as it does.
Let’s send our eternal thanks to them for making IXC possible!

“This team has shown me what kind of person I want to be: Dedicated, tough, friendly, persistent, and fun.” Said Ansari, “I couldn”t be more proud of this team.'”

Practice for the Track and Field Season will begin on Monday, November 27th.

Results: https://clubrunning.org/races/race_results.php?race=547

IXC is set for big weekend in Michigan. There is a lot to look forward to in all the races. Every athlete has a story. Every race this season had a tale to tell. And Nationals will be the final chapter in IXC’s 2017 book. Let’s get to it.

This year’s NIRCA National Championship meet will consist of seven races, including an open 5k at the start (where Jeevan Maddila and Abby Ludwig will be competing). Let’s break them down.

Men’s Jr/Sr/Grad – 8k
There will be plenty of runners to watch for in the men’s Jr/Sr/Grad race, the first race of the day. Leonel Rodriguez placed 2nd at last year’s Freshman/Sophomore race despite having bronchitis. Look for him towards the front of the pack this time around. Senior Tony Gao, who broke 3 hours at the Chicago Marathon earlier this year, will be running his third and final Nationals meet. Also running his final Nationals meet will be Senior Austin Keuhr, who consistently leads his training group in workouts.

Women’s Jr/Sr/Grad -6k
The 2017 season has brought lots of PRs and improvements for the women’s Jr/Sr/Grad lineup, with more to come on Saturday. Senior Andrea Arriaga PR’d on a bad ankle at Regionals and is now hoping to PR again at Nationals. Anastasia Rodriguez has stepped up her commitment to the club this season and looks to reap the benefits. Senior and Club treasurer Mariela Marquez has battled with injury this season, but will be racing hard on Saturday in her last cross-country race with the club.

Men’s Championship – 8k
Young, fresh, and ready to roll. Despite only returning two runners from last year’s ‘A’ race, the men’s championship squad is packed with talent and drive, and will surely be competitive on Saturday. A record three freshman – Josh Mollway, Brian Butcher, and Connor Farrell – will be competing. All three have been an integral part of the team. Also making his championship debut will be senior teammate Quinn Todzo, a staple of the club the past four years, and sophomore Eli Walker, who is coming off a strong performance at Regionals. Returning ‘A’ race veterans William Wolf and Josh Feldman, both juniors, are running the ‘A’ race for the third time in their college career, hoping to make it their best. Feldman is a returning NIRCA All-American, placing 23rd at last year’s meet.

Women’s Championship – 6k
The IXC women are also bringing a fresh team this year, returning only one runner – junior Anneliese Schulz – who was All-American at last year’s Nationals, placing 23rd. Schulz earned top-10 honors at Regionals and is poised to compete well on Saturday. Top runner Julia Schultz, formerly an Illini varsity athlete, joined the team this fall and immediately made a splash, taking second at the Aurora Spartan invite and placing 2nd at Regionals. Joining them will be Sophomore Riley Maloney and Junior Tiffany Yathaputanon. Yathaputanon has focused on middle-distance races for the majority of her career, but is now ready to turn a great summer of training into results on Saturday. Seniors Anna Piazza and Vicky Dent will also be making their championship race debut. Injuries have prevented Noel Brindise and Erin Kainrath from performing on Saturday, but they will be supporting their teammates.

Men’s Freshmen/Sophomore – 8k
The future of IXC men will be on display Saturday at 1:00 pm for the Freshman/Sophomore race. Freshman Olan Bruyere is the last in the lineage of three Bruyeres on IXC. He will be trying to break 33 minutes. Sophomore Daniel Engel is coming back from injuries to run his first Nationals race as a member of IXC. Towards the front of our pack will be freshman Nathaniel Oommen. Oommen is a talented freshman who will be competing with the best in the race.

Women’s Freshmen/Sophomore – 6k
The IXC women have recruited a lot of new athletes this season, putting the team numbers at an historic level. Their talent will be on display in the last race of the day. Maia Haworth struggled with hip and IT band pain after Regionals, but is now ready to finish her season strong. Look for Leah Ziolowski towards the front of this squad. She has had consistent training this season with near spotless attendance. Freshman Grace McDonough improved her season 6k time a remarkable 2:57 minutes from UW-Parkside to Regionals! Who knows how much she will improve her current best of 29:32 at Nationals?

Meet information can be found here: https://clubrunning.org/championships/event_coverage.php?race=547

Nationals is in three weeks. Our ‘A’ team squad will have an unprecedented three freshmen. However, one could not write this article without mentioning our fourth-year team member, Quinn Todzo.

Todzo was sixth for the IXC men today, and for his first time, secured a spot in the ‘A’ men’s championship race at Nationals.

Todzo ran 27:47 at today’s meet, improving 33 seconds from last year’s regional race at Iowa State. Quinn will join Josh Mollway, William Wolf, Brian Butcher, Josh Feldman, Connor Farrell, and Eli Walker at this year’s NIRCA Nationals at Michigan State University on November 11th.

Pack running was on clear display today for the first six kilometers, as pockets of orange and white drifted by spectators on a spectator-friendly course. Our men’s top runners ran together as a large swarm in the first 2k, and then broke off into smaller packs.

Running together up front was a pack of Mollway, Wolf, Butcher, and Farrell, followed by teammates Feldman, Todzo, and Walker slightly behind. These packs stuck together for another 4k, and then strung out as the finish approached. Running into a brutal uphill and windy finish, top runner Mollway represented the team well, securing a medal and another solid race for this freshman.

The team finished in 2nd place and 47 points behind rival Iowa state.

An enormous group of 41 men competed today, many of whom will represent the club well at the NIRCA Nationals ‘B’ race this year.

One such athlete is sophomore Daniel Engel, who ran his first ever cross-country race as an IXC member, and only his second race since high school. Engel has suffered a string of injuries that have held him back for much of his college career, yet was able to run a strong race today in 31:02.

“I felt that my race went well.” Said Engel, “It feels really good to finally race again as I was out for so long.”

Sophomore Jarod Meyer ran aggressively to earn a 45 second season-best. Meyer moved up during the race to run with teammates who typically run ahead of him. “I couldn”t stop myself from smiling the whole time,” said Meyer in an online log, “Because I was having a blast through all the pain.”

Head Coach Richard Skogsberg is happy with the direction of the team and is looking forward to Nationals. “I think other people are envious,” said Skogsberg “We have something really great going on here and it’s entirely attributed to all of you who showed up and took the time for this weekend.”

IXC President Muneeb Ansari is leading the team to their final and most important meet of the season: Nationals.
“I want you guys to take the next three weeks, to give a good final push, so we come out of Nationals with something that we all are collectively proud of,” Said Ansari.

The IXC men’s next race will be the NIRCA Cross Country Nationals on November 11th, at Forest Acres East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan.

Results: https://jmsresults.com/results/2017/ashton17.html

It’s always hard falling four points short. Yet, the Great Plains Regionals meet is simply a step along the way to our destination: Nationals.

“The score might not have turned out exactly as we were hoping, but because of the way NIRCA is constructed, we don’t exactly have to run our best at regionals.” Said Head Coach Richard Skogsberg.

The IXC women finished 2nd at today’s NIRCA Regional meet scoring 55 points behind Northwestern Club’s 51 point performance.

However, a series of strong races by our IXC women shows a glass half-full.

Vicky Dent is one of IXC’s rising stars. Last year at Regionals, she ran close to 26:30. Today, she ran a big PR of 25:03, finishing 3rd for the IXC women.

“I couldn”t have done it without having Anneliese, Julia, Erin, Anna, and Noel pushing me to do better on the workouts.” Said Dent, “Everyone else on the team performed really well too and I”m so excited for what”s to come at Nationals.”

Working together up front was sophomore Julia Schultz [23:33] and junior Anneliese Schulz [23:59], both medaling with top-10 finishes.
Joining our two front-runners in the ”A” race at Nationals will be Dent [25:03], Erin Kainrath [25:34], Noel Brindise [25:48], Riley Maloney [26:23], and Anna Piazza [26:32]

Brindise ran another top-seven finish today, displaying enormous improvements made over the course of the season. Brindise will be running the ‘A’ race this year after running the women’s ‘B’ race her freshman and sophomore years.

Yet another athlete making her ‘A’ race debut at Nationals will be Maloney, a sophomore. Maloney ran an intelligent race today, passing dozens of runners in the first kilometer and hanging on for a 26th place overall finish.

Maloney’s high school running career was hindered greatly by iron deficiency anemia. Now in her second year of college, she is seeing her dedication finally pay off and her anemia under control. “I am very happy with how everything has gone, and I know training has helped a lot with that,” Said Maloney in an online log.

Another standout performance was from Maggie Madden, who, with a time of 34:13, ran a full 2:30 faster than her previous 6k. “I’m looking forward to dropping even more time during Nationals with proper training, through Anneliese’s coaching, and smarter active rest.” Said Madden. Madden transferred to Illinois this semester from Harper College, and only began distance running a few years ago.

Gender Minority Captain Schulz said she was incredibly proud of the high turnout today, and she is looking forward to Nationals. “We still have three fantastic weeks lefts in our season…” said Schulz, “Regionals is important, but Nationals is where everything should be put on the line.”

The IXC women’s next race will be the NIRCA Cross Country Nationals on November 11th, at Forest Acres East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan.

Results: https://jmsresults.com/results/2017/ashton17.html

For the past three years, Jared Ripoli has been IXC’s top men’s finisher.
Running as a 22-year-old alumnus, Ripoli was back on the scene at today’s Lucian Rosa Invite.

Yet the day belonged to the team’s freshmen, who comprised 3 of the team’s top 5 and 4 of the top 7.

“I thought it was really cool how we all worked off each other.” Said Josh Mollway, freshman, who was the team’s top finisher today with a time of 27:11.

Close behind was Brian Butcher, another freshman, at 27:13. Butcher got out fast and ran towards the front of the race, while Mollway conserved energy and caught up to Butcher before the finish.

With Mollway as an exception, the freshman men all had an aggressive start, running the first uphill mile near 5:20. Connor Farrell and Nathaniel Oommenn both ran close to Butcher in the first few miles. Farrell and Oommenn finished 5th and 6th for the club, respectively.

Upperclassmen Josh Feldman (3rd), Michael Frintner (4th), and Quinn Todzo (7th) rounded out the men’s top 7, giving the team a 4th place overall finish.

The IXC men were still short-handed today. Top runners William Wolf, Zach Mesplay, and Eli Walker all did not race due to scheduling conflicts.
Top-to-bottom, the men’s race offered lessons in savvy race strategy. Multiple athletes ran conservative first miles, giving powerful finishes. One such athlete was Jarod Meyer, who ran his season debut today.

Meyer got out conservatively, and as a result ran consistently in the second half of the race at around 6:10 pace. He picked up the pace significantly in the last 800 meters and, despite succumbing to leg spasms just short of the finish, ran a strong race in 30:04. Similarly, Evan Patel had an impressive finish, moving up several places in the final kilometer of the race.

Behind Meyer was Senior Austin Keuhr, who, through miles 2-4, consistently passed his competitors to move up through the race. “Austin ran a really intelligent, well-paced race.” Said Skogsberg

Times for every athlete was uncharacteristically slow for the Lucian-Rosa Invite. In previous years, similar races would have resulted in times 30-40 seconds faster. This may be attributed in part to the unusually warm and humid conditions.

Results: http://www.wisconsinrunner.com/results/2017rosa/2017_UW_Parkside_Lucian_Rosa_Invite_Men_Overall.htm

Coach Richard Skogsberg and Gender Minority Captain Anneliese Schulz had set a goal this week. While only about a dozen IXC women typically compete at the Lucian Rosa Invite, this year, they would try to have at least 20 women run. The final tally was 25.

“Overall, I am blown away by the number of women that came out to race today,” said Schulz, “It might even be a historical amount.”
Coach Skogsberg was so blown away that he deemed it a club record. “It’s my opinion that it’s a record, so it’s a record.” Said Skogsberg following the race.

Much of the record turnout, comprising 10 of today’s 25 women, were newcomers. Trina Garzonetti, Sam Smith, Isabelle Friend, Maggie Madden, Danielle Leyva, Emma Newsham, Maia Haworth, Erin Kainrath, Grace McDonough, and Audrey Bloomquist all ran their first college 6k today.

The team finished an impressive 3rd overall. Leading the team was Julia Schultz, 15th overall, followed by Schulz in 21st. Junior Noel Brindise had a PR of 25:27, as well as a standout performance today as the team’s 3rd scorer. “It was actually a great race,” said Brindise, “This was an unexpected and much-needed pick-me-up.”

“This is Noel”s course. It was a breakthrough race for her last year and she was our third woman today.” Said Schulz.

Working with Brindise was newcomer Erin Kainrath, who was the team’s 4th scorer.

In addition to Brindise, Sophomore Riley Maloney ran a big PR with a time of 26:26, an impressive performance given the hilly course and humid conditions.

Another standout performance came from newcomer Andy Arriaga. Arriaga is a senior who, while not new to running, is new to IXC. Andrea ran a nearly 30 second PR, running under 29 minutes.

“It really helped me appreciate everything about that whole experience: the trees, the gravel, the downhills, the cheers for our team,” said Arriaga, “Once I saw it was under 29 minutes, I was like, ‘it”s now or never!’”
Like the men, the women’s race was unusually slow. Coach Skogsberg, however, was not very concerned.

“We had multiple women PR, or come close to it, which is extremely impressive given how slow the course was running.” Said Skogsberg.

Results: http://www.wisconsinrunner.com/results/2017rosa/2017_UW_Parkside_Lucian_Rosa_Invite_Women_Overall.htm

It was a day for sunscreen and water bottles at the Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, IL. After a 3-hour drive, IXC members were thankful to find their race pushed later and shorter from 6k to 5k for the women and 5 miles to 4 miles for the men. A big thank you is in order to all the parents who came to line the course and support our runners through some of the most difficult conditions in recent memory.

The women raced first as the men simultaneously warmed up and cheered their teammates on. As per usual, the women were lead by their fearless leader, Anneliese Schulz who battled cramping and a rushed start to finish 37th in a time of 20:33. The women’s captain said “I think the women had a really positive response to the difficult race conditions, women who work together in workouts stuck right with each other in the race and while no one ran a PR for the day a lot of women ran their first race with our club and will use the things they learned in this tough race (like working with your workout partners, being conservative at the start) to enhance their future club races.” In her first race of the season, Emily Condic reminded us why she finished 45th out of 325 last year at nationals by “powerhousing” a 21:12 followed close behind by Vicky Dent in 21:25. Vicky found success through pack running with Emily and propelled the duo to great times. In her college debut, Erin Kainrath ran a promising time of 21:32, look out for a breakthrough race in the coming weeks. She has been one of the most consistent women and, as we all know, consistency is #MajorKeyAlert in running. After her race, Erin said “We finished! And in front of people too!”. She’ll be in front of many more people later on. Coming off of two strong PRs from Aurora, Anastasia Rodriguez and Noel Brindise finished together in 22:08 and 22:09. The coaches and teammates are eagerly expecting their times to drop even further come regionals and nationals. Audrey Dombro had quite an experience at her first cross country meet ever. Citing “lots of water and inner strength”, she ran a phenomenal career opener in 22:39! Andy Arriaga, in her final year at UIUC, showed us what she’s capable of. At beautiful, flat, 60 °F Aurora, she ran 8:12 pace but despite Friday’s frolic through the Fire’s of Mordor, she ran 7:39 pace! Congratulations to her on a such a big improvement. Commitment to club running is something special. You can’t always see it or quantify it but you can simply feel it. Few give a level of commitment comparable to Erin McKee who, despite the 6 hours of driving and a meeting ON CAMPUS at 8:30, raced for the sake of her team and went back to Home Sweet Home Urbana-Champaign right away. You gotta respect that commitment. Last, but not least, is another lifelong committed member of IXC. Coach Richard stated, “[Megan Frintner] was always making moves when she ran past where I was”. Her gritty race earned her a 26:02 time.

30 men toed the line on Friday knowing their training would carry them through their ordeal. The borderline impossible conditions offered adversity that they, as a whole, responded well to. In particular, freshmen Connor Farrell and Josh Mollway ran “very smart” races to finish 43-44th in 21:36. They were 2nd and 3rd on the team behind junior William Wolf who finished 22nd in 21:09. Cody Lund, a model for consistency, ran 21:59 to be the 8th man on the team. This pace was the same pace he ran at Aurora and, given the heat and fast start, Parkside will be a showstopper for this biology-loving lad. In his first club meet, Matthew Beckerman ran a solid 23:10. Look for him and his headbands to do some damage at regionals and nationals, this guy can race. Other notable season openers include Ciaràn Lynch who ran 24:53 on little warmup, Jahleel Perrin who conquered the race despite worries, and Matt Dickinson who finished in 27:44.

In all, Coach Skogsberg had a lot to say. “I thought people did a good job in contextualizing how this race could be beneficial for us as a team even though it wasn”t a PR opportunity – focusing on preparation and race execution rather than overall time. People did a really great job working together during the race, which was a focus for us going in to the race, and something that will only continue to translate to success down the road. We weren”t as successful in our pacing; many of us got out too fast, but we”re aware of that, and seek to improve in that part of the race at Parkside and beyond.”

The team will compete next at the UW-Parkside Lucian Rosa Invitational on October 7th.