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With two more meets behind us, let’s take a look at what went down.

There were debuts all over the squad and many amazing ones at that. On the sprints side, Alex Bienduga made his first two appearances in a blazing fashion by posting the second and third fastest 400 times run by the club so far this year (53.21 and then 52.52) as well as running a very solid 23.59 in the 200 at the ONU Invite. Mason Rosenberg continued to show his speed leading the group in the 200 with a time of 23.46 at the IWU Titan Open. He also made his debut in the long jump posting a top 10 jump of 5.87m. Along with him, Sonia Zhang triple jumped for the first time and blasted her way onto the number 6 spot in the top 10’s list with a jump of 9.80m. Their coach, Mateusz Lopez, also put up his second best ever long jump at 6.06m and a 51.99 in the 400. Veteran sprinter Becky Haight, after already getting the 60m record earlier this year, continues to knock on the door of multiple records. She is now hundredths away from the record in both the 200m (26.44 at EIU) and the long jump after her 4.98 m leap at IWU. Hurdler Michael Jang ran sub-9 again in the 60m Hurdles at IWU and also posted a club personal best of 24.06 in the 200m at ONU and hopes to continue to remain injury free this season.

The troop of first-year throwers continues to drop far marks as they look to put up big numbers in the coming weeks. Inga Augustaitis made her shot put debut and looks to be very competitive in the women’s throws this year.

Mid-distance had a couple big returns in the past two meets with Erin McKee joining us after a semester abroad, and Ryne Beeson returning after 8 long years in hibernation. Erin joined other mid-d girls Tiffany Yathaputanon and Emily Foley in the 800 as they all posted times within seconds of each other right at the 2:40 mark. Emily also made an appearance at ONU where she took to the mile and ran a 5:49. Ryne shook the dust off his legs and put his walker aside as he ran a very solid 800 (2:07) and mile (4:40). Another mid-d debut came from Jason Golden who ran a 2:03 in the 800 at IWU. Hannah Smith ran an awesome 3000m where she absolutely dusted her heat and came in with a PR of 11:53. (I know, I know.. The 3K is not a mid-distance event. I get it)

Distance finally came out the woodwork with a fury of milers and 3000m runners. With the track debuts of Jarod Meyer, Evan Patel, and Cody Lund, the mile was insanely exciting. Leading the bunch was freshman Alex Hanskat battling the whole way to post an awesome time of 4:40.87. He was followed in by Cody (4:45), Evan (4:51), and Jarod (4:52) which was an awesome race to watch. The 3000m was literally packed with our squad (check out this picture: Men”s 3000M) and boy did they show up. There were club PRs from Wiam Wolf (8:55), Josh Feldman (9:00), distance coach Ryan Somerfield (9:05), Alex Lindsay in his debut (9:08), and Leonel Rodriguez (who PR’d by almost 30 seconds with a 9:32) all from the meet at IWU. The following weekend at ONU, freshman Zach Mesplay was the lone ITC runner in his debut race, the 3000m, where he ran a 9:21. He was joined by Riley Maloney who had a lifetime PR of 6:33 in the mile but looks to keep improving on that time as she gets more opportunities to race.

There were a ton of exciting performances from these meets and there is still so much more to come! With groups going to GVSU and Taylor University this weekend, you better get pumped for some great times! Most of the squad will be heading to Taylor University to go head to head with some of Indiana’s best track athletes including Indiana’s club team. The rest of the group will be making the trek out to Allendale, MI in our only overnight meet of the indoor season. GVSU houses an extremely fast 300m track in the icy tundra that is Michigan. Known for being the site of the many of our records, including both the men’s and women’s 200m and 400m as well as the women’s 3000m, it will definitely be a fast one. With almost 50 people set to compete, it should be the biggest weekend yet!”,2017-02-09 00:05:00+00,Indoor

With this being the first post on the new site, I’d like to say welcome! The rest of the ITC Web Development team and I have worked very hard making this new site what it is. That being said, it is still a work in progress. If anything seems wrong or you want to suggest an improvement, please don’t hesitate to contact me at illinoistfclub+webmaster@gmail.com! That goes for anything related to your results on the site, as well as any other pages or features. As the webmaster, I can be your contact for that kind of stuff throughout the year. Along with the slick new site, we have a lot to be excited about this year! A couple of the coaches had some words to say about this upcoming 2017 season.

On the distance side, Coach Ryan Somerfield is very excited to see his runners perform this year, specifically seniors Sean Bruyere, Emma Burkhart, and Jared Ripoli who he hopes overcome their injuries and cap off their club racing careers with a solid last season. He’s looking for all of the freshmen to come into their own on the club and he’s hoping runners Muneeb Ansari, Noel Brindise, and Megan Frintner can break their respective barriers in the mile (Muneeb – 5:00, Noel and Megan – 6:00).

Sprints coach Mike Kreiser had the following to say about his crew: “On the women’s side, Becky Haight looks to break every single record in the history of ITC. Already knocked down the 60m record at the early bird meet and is on the heels of the 200m record. Lone senior Abby Ralph looks to continue her dynamic athletic ability, taking on a workload of sprints, jumps, and hurdles. Along with those girls, a class of newcomers looks to show us what they got this season. A deep field of newcomers looks to revitalize the men’s program. Veteran Mateusz Lopez leads in jumps while continuing to impress in the 200m and 400m. Newcomers Kevin Sager and Mason Rosenberg look to make their mark across the sprints program as well. Veteran Michael Jang continues to move toward the 60m HH record. Our deep roster should be very nice to have during the 2017 season”.

In the pits, Coach Mateusz Lopez is looking to have all of his jumpers improve in every meet through hard work and proper practice. He has high expectations but knows that his athletes can live up to them and more.

Throws coach Ali Djokic chimed in as well with the following: “In the realm of throws, I’m very excited to see what our new team can accomplish this season. Our crew has over doubled since last year and that has come from a talented new freshman class. On the women’s side, Carah Cole came out to her first collegiate meet in December and shattered our previous indoor shot put record. Inga Augustaitis premiered this past weekend and follows close in Carah’s footsteps so I hope to see those two progress together. For the men, a new trio to look out for this season consists of Sal Ruiz, Liam Nassib, and Thomas Nute. It’s great to see them push one another to get better at both practice and meets. We have a new junior member, Paul Fina, who will be throwing javelin this year. Be sure to watch for him through our outdoor season! We are a very young team but have senior Tare Emuze finishing her senior year and I feel she is going to leave an already larger impact on the club than years before and will be a legacy to follow. I am excited to see this passionate group kill it this season. “

I’ll end with my group as the mid-distance coach. I’m really happy with my crew this year and I think they will all have awesome seasons. We have a lot of veterans, which means we have a good group of solid leaders. I look forward to seeing them all achieve their goals and avoid the injuries that have plagued some of them in the past. I hope my girls continue to stick together and improve as they do so and I anticipate a lot of success from my newcomers as well. I’m excited to see all of the work that the whole team has put in to come to fruition in the form a really great season for everyone.

Stay tuned for more coverage of ITC”s season, and more website improvements as well! We should all look forward to this fun and successful season!

The Illinois Cross Country Club competed at the NIRCA National Cross Country Championships on November 12 in Hershey, PA. It was a successful day for the club across six races in the biggest club national championship yet. In the championship race, the men finished fourth and the women finished ninth. The day was also highlighted by incredible efforts in the open races: Quinn Todzo was the national champion in the Junior/Senior/Grad division and Grayson Stout was the runner-up; Leonel Rodriguez ran a heroic race to finish as the runner-up in the Freshman/Sophomore division.

Junior/Senior/Grad

The day started off with a bang. The man, the myth, the legend Quinn “Jackhammer” Todzo toed the line looking for the win and he executed perfectly. Quinn was hyped out of his mind in an expletive-laden pre-race huddle and that fiery intensity burned through the entire race. After seasons of grinding away, Quinn took home the victory on Saturday morning with a 27:27.

Just behind the Dancellor came another incredible performance from IXC as senior Grayson Stout took second in the race. Grayson joined the club team late this fall and ran his first race of the season at Regionals. He tore his ACL in 2015 and his performance at Nationals means #thereturn is complete as he broke through with a 27:36, more than 10 seconds ahead of third place.

The club has always prided itself on its strength in the open race, and Saturday was no exception. The men’s team won handily over Penn State, 36-50. Junior Jack O’Neil was sixth overall and senior Tyler Dixon was tenth in his final cross country race. Tyler loved the brutally tough Hershey course in 2013 and he made the most of his return to Pennsylvania. Also making his return to Hershey, senior Jack Morrissey was the fifth man.

Junior Austin Kuehr finished sixth for the team and senior Sean “SMB” Bruyere finished seventh. Big Sean ran his best race of college his freshman year in Hershey, finishing sixth overall in the men’s open race and he ends his cross country career as the team’s seventh man in Hershey.

In the women’s race, junior Vicky Dent surged throughout the 6K course to finish first for the women and claim tenth place overall. Senior Hannah Smith, the only Hershey veteran for IXC in the race, finished next, in thirteenth and senior Ellie Palacios capped off her XC career with a 22^nd place finish in Hershey. One of the biggest jumps from last season came from Mariela Marquez. Last year in Kentucky, she ran 29:15 at Nationals. This year, on a much more challenging course, Mariela ran 27:32 as the team’s fourth runner. Junior Megan Frintner rounded out the scoring five.

Championship

The men’s championship race was highlighted by some experienced veterans on one last ride and going out with a bang. The men’s team finished fourth, behind dominating efforts by Oregon, UC-Davis and Penn State. It was an improvement of eight places from last year and the team crushed Great Plains foe Iowa State, who edged IXC at Regionals.

Senior Jared “Big Red” Ripoli was the team’s top finisher, reestablishing himself as the team’s top dog. Jared became the first IXC athlete ever to run in the championship race all four years of competition. He earned his second NIRCA All-American honor with a 19^th place finish in 26:29. He ran 27:31 in Hershey at Nationals in 2013.

The team’s second runner broke out at Nationals last season and has been on a roll ever since. Josh Feldman claimed NIRCA All-American honors with a 23^rd place finish. He’s a key part of the club’s young talent after steady top finishes through the entire 2016 campaign. Senior head coach Ryan Somerfield was the team’s third man in a stellar effort. Ryan worked his way up the entire race aiming to run a race to be proud of. He used a strong kick to finish 36^th in his strongest performance of the season.

Sophomore Willy Wolf was fourth for the team and senior David Choi was fifth in his return to Hershey with a 27:13. He ran 29:48 his freshman year. Junior Michael Frintner finished sixth for the team and freshman Zach Mesplay was seventh.

In the women’s race, the team was once again led by the triple threat of sophomore Anneliese Schulz, senior Emma Burkhardt and freshman Emily Condic. The women finished in ninth place overall. Anneliese led the charge for the women with a 23:50 NIRCA All-American performance good for 23^rd place. Emma and Emily both finished exactly at 24:18, with Emma taking 44^th and Emily taking 45^th overall.

Junior Erin McKee capped a strong return from overseas in her return to the championship race, finishing as the women’s fourth runner. Sophomores Sara Folliard and Jill Monier have run well at every meet she’s competed at this season, and they finished as the fifth and sixth women, respectively, in Hershey.

Freshman/Sophomore

The open races were split by class for the first time at Nationals this year, giving the underclassmen an opportunity to shine. Sophomore Leonel Rodriguez seized the spotlight with a courageous effort to finish as the runner-up in the Frosh/Soph race. Leonel has been battling respiratory illness all season, but he faced down his demons with an incredible race. He lurked in the front pack for most of the race and took the lead with about 1K to go. He was caught by Penn State’s Andrew Hanna, but Leonel exerted himself to the fullest to finish a challenging season.

Sophomore Justin Shim, with the cheers of his father behind him, was second for the team and twelfth overall. He was followed closely by fellow sophomore Adam Bruyere in fourteenth. Freshman Cody Lund had a stellar effort to finish in 28:49. Cody broke his season goal in the very first meet, and capped off his first campaign with the club in 16^th place.

In a tenacious effort, sophomore Arturo Woodward-Montes rounded out the team’s scoring five. Injury made Arturo question whether he would even compete at Nationals, but he gritted it out and moved up through the entire race for a strong showing. Freshman Sean “Crunchy” Frintner also gritted out a solid race while tweaking his leg during the race. Little Sean finished as the team’s sixth man and fellow freshman Rohit “Pool Party” Kumar was seventh.  Freshman Jacob Anderson also had a phenomenal last race of the season, finishing in 31:31. He ran his best time of the season at Hershey, the toughest course of the season.

For the women, a small but strong squad represented in the Freshman/Sophomore race. Freshman Leah Ziolkowski led the way with a 27:33 finish, sophomore Adriana Miltko ran a tough race, including a fall, to finish as the women”s second runner. Freshman Callie Rukavina was the third finisher for the women.

It was the team’s third trip to Hershey and the first since 2013. It was a day full of highlights for IXC and a fantastic finish to an awesome season. The trip would not have been possible without the help of parent volunteers to drive our vans to Nationals. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy/Mom and Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Frintner, Mr. and Mrs. Folliard, Mr. Feldman, Mr. and Mrs. Condic, and Mr. Yoon.

Thank you for your support the entire 2016 cross country season! Keep checking illinoistrackclub.com for updates as the team moves into track season, starting with the Illinois Wesleyan Titan First Chance Meet on December 3.

The Illinois Cross Country Club started the post-season with success at the NIRCA Great Plains Regional Championships in Ames, Iowa. The women won their sixth-straight regional championship and the men finished in second, two points out of first place. Seven athletes earned all-Regional honors as the club ran its final race before Nationals.

The women went off first at Iowa State. The women were once again led by the triumvirate of Anneliese Schulz, Emily Condic and Emma Burkhardt. After missing the team’s last outing at UW-Parkside, Anneliese and Emma were right back at full strength for a solid showing. All three women garnered all-Regional honors- Anneliese led the charge in sixth place, clocking a 24:21. Emily and Emma were within five seconds behind, taking seventh and eighth.

Senior Allison Gibson has progressed into a top-seven stalwart through of her club running career, and she narrowly missed top-ten all-Regional honors in Ames by just three tenths of a second. Coming off a strong race at UW-Parkside, sophomore Sara Folliard had another great performance to round out the team’s scoring five. High school teammates Erin McKee and Jill Monier finished sixth and seventh for the team. Senior Mariela Marquez also demonstrated a marked improvement from last year, improving nearly twenty places from last year’s Regional meet.

Once again, no other Great Plains team could match the women’s depth. The women have won the Regional Championship every time it has been contested. They won convincingly in Ames, taking down second place Wisconsin by a score of 46-64.

The men also put on a strong performance in their runner-up finish. The top four finishers for IXC went 5-6-7-8 to all garner all-Regional honors with just a 15 second split. Auburn Jimenez was first for the men in his second race of the season. Sophomore Willy Wolf was next through the chute for IXC. He’s finished first or second for the team in every meet this season. Senior Jared Ripoli came in third for the team, earning his third career all-Regional medal in his best-ever finish at Regionals, and sophomore Josh Feldman finished fourth. Head coach Ryan Somerfield and senior David Choi were fifth and sixth.

Freshman Mackenzie Bach ran his strongest race of the season to finish as the team’s seventh man. Mackenzie has steadily improved all season and had a breakthrough race at Iowa State’s challenging course. He’s the second freshman to finish in the men’s top seven this season.

Saturday also marked a remarkable club debut for a senior running his first race. Grayson Stout joined the club late this fall but he had a stellar race toeing the line for the first time since 2013. Grayson tore his ACL in 2015 and came out in Ames with a quick 28:04 #thereturn.  Another senior also made his season debut at Regionals, Jack Morrissey ran a respectable 28:54 to start his season, despite forgetting his trainers in Champaign.

For the past three years, IXC hosted the Great Plains Regional. This year marked the first time since 2012 that Iowa State has hosted the meet on their home course. It was a challenging course divided between an Iowa-flat start and finish and brutal hills criss-crossing through the ISU Arboretum.

Regionals is the club’s final meet before the NIRCA National Championships on November 12. The team will travel to Hershey, PA to compete against clubs from all over the country for the grand finale of the club cross country season.

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.