2017
CROSS COUNTRY MEET NOTES
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MEET PREVIEW The Fighting Illini will break away from the Midwest for their first big meet of the season, as they travel to Boston, Massachusetts for the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. Held at Franklin Park on the campus of Boston College, the Illini men and women will compete against some of the top teams in the northeast. The women's 5,000-meter race begins on Friday, September 22, at 2 p.m. central time, followed by the men's 8,000-meter race at 2:30 p.m.
Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown Friday, Sept. 22 // 2 p.m. CT Franklin Park Men’s Race: 8K // Women's Race: 5K Boston, Mass.
ILLINOIS 2017 SCHEDULE Date Sept. 1 Sept. 9 Sept. 22 Sept. 30 Oct. 13 OCT. 20 Oct. 29 Nov. 10 Nov. 18
Event Time/Result EIU Walt Crawford Open 4-0 / 5-0 John McNichols Invite (Men) 1st of 5 Coast to Coast Battle Beantown 2/2:30pm Greater Louisville Classic 9/9:45am Ed Nuttyombe Invite 11/11:40am ILLINI OPEN 4/4:40PM Big Ten Championships TBA NCAA Midwest Regionals TBA NCAA National Championships TBA
FOLLOW THE ACTION ALL SEASON Results and Recap: fightingillini.com Facebook: facebook.com/IlliniMXC and facebook.com/IlliniWXC Twitter: twitter.com/illinimxc and twitter.com/illiniwxc
ILLINOIS QUICK FACTS Location............................................................ Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Founded..........................................................................................1867 Enrollment...................................................................................44,520 Nickname...........................................................................Fighting Illini Colors........................................................................... Orange and Blue Conference..................................................................................Big Ten Cross Country Coach......................................Jake Stewart (6th season) Track & Field Coach.......................Mike Turk (7th season, 11th overall) Home Course...................................................................... UI Arboretum 2016 Men’s Big Ten Finish................................................................2nd 2016 Women’s Big Ten Finish......................................................... 10th 2016 Men’s Midwest Regional Finish................................................ 3rd 2016 Women’s Midwest Regional Finish......................................... 14th Men’s Letterwinners Returning/Lost................................................. 7/2 Women’s Letterwinners Returning/Lost............................................. 4/5 Men’s Newcomers / Women’s Newcomers....................................... 1/10
FOLLOW THE MEET Live results of Friday's meet can be accessed through Millennium by going to http:// www.millenniumrunning.com/results-coast-coast-battle-beantown-xc-2017/22909. Fans can also follow @IlliniMXC and @IlliniWXC on Twitter for updates throughout the meet. A full recap of both men’s and women’s races will be provided on fightingillini.com following the conclusion of the meet. INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER Take a look inside the Illinois cross country program has redshirt junior Billy Magnesen and freshman Nicki Cast take over the team instagram accounts. Follow @IlliniMXC and @IlliniWXC beginning on Thursday to follow the team through their trip to Boston. RUNNING FOR THE ILLINI Men: Jon Davis, Zach Dale, Zack Smith, Jack LaLonde, Jesse Reiser, Dan Lathrop, Billy Magnesen and Alex Keeble Women: Nicki Cast, Nicole Choquette, Allison McGrath, Katie Stapleton, Rebecca Craddock, Delaney Appino, Miranda Marry and Kelli Callaghan COACH STEWART ON THE MEN'S RACE "It's our first opportunity to be exposed to some pretty good competition. It's on a course that I feel we can run really well on. We don't typically see these schools outside of the Midwest; so to see them in the Northeast on a course some of these schools are very familiar with is a new experience for everyone involved. When we looked at scheduling this, we wanted something different. It's going to be a good, quality field to introduce ourselves to the competitive portion of our season." COACH HAVEMAN ON THE WOMEN'S RACE "We've had a great couple of weeks of training, so we try to bring a level of consistency each day, and the same applies for race day. We have a great mix of youth and seniors. Friday will be just another great chance for us to continue evolving and coming together as a team. This being the first race where we're gearing towards performances a little bit more, is to keep bringing consistency and progress." KNOW THE COURSE One of New England's most historic parks, Franklin Park is the largest park in the Boston's 'Emerald Necklace' of interconnected parks. Originally designed by renowned landscaper architect Frederick Law Olmstead, the 220-acre land features a natural, hilly landscape with three different loops: the Stadium Loop, Beat Cage Hill Loop and Wilderness Loop. A LOOK AT THE COMPETITION With 22 school entered in the meet, the Illini will race against a pair of ranked opponents in both the men's and women's races. For the men, No. 3 Syracuse headlines the list of entries, while No. 21 Indiana is also entered. On the women's
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2017 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CROSS-COUNTRY NOTES
USTFCCCA RANKINGS Rank Men Women 1 Northern Arizona Colorado 2 Stanford Oregon 3 Syracuse New Mexico 4 Coloardo Michigan 5 Arkansas Stanford 6 BYU NC State 7 Wisonsin Providence 8 Oregon San Francisco 9 Oklahoma State Penn State 10 Iona Notre Dame 11 Washington State Arkansas 12 Furman Washington 13 Iowa State Villanova 14 Southern Utah BYU 15 Virginia Boise State 16 Georgetown Wisconsin 17 Portland Ole Miss 18 Colorado State Indiana 19 Middle Tennessee Minnesota 20 UCLA Michigan State 21 Indiana Oklahoma State 22 Tulsa Utah State 23 Ole Miss Iowa State 24 Virginia Tech Mississippi State 25 Michigan State Georgetown 26 Boise State Utah 27 ILLINOIS Ohio State 28 Columbia Missouri 29 Eastern Michigan Vanderbilt 30 NC State Yale Men's Receiving Votes: Michigan, Navy, Air Force, Texas, California, Minnesota, Eastern Kentucky, Utah State Women's Rceiving Votes: Eastern Michigan, Furman, West Virginia, Baylor, Portland, Syracuse, Louisville, Harvard, Air Force, Princeton, SMU
USTFCCCA MIDWEST RANKINGS Rank Men Women 1 Oklahoma State Minnesota 2 Iowa State Iowa State 3 ILLINOIS Oklahoma State 4 Tulsa Missouri 5 Minnesota Kansas 6 Kansas Northwestern 7 Bradley Oklahoma 8 South Dakota State Northern Illinois 9 Wichita State ILLINOIS 10 Iowa Tulsa 11 Oklahoma South Dakota 12 Missouri Iowa 13 Nebraska Bradley 14 UMKC Northern Iowa 15 Illinois State Eastern Illinois
side, No. 18 Indiana and No. 25 Georgetown are entered, while Harvard and Syracuse are receiving votes. LAST TIME OUT While the women will be racing for the first time since September 1 when they went 4-0 at the Eastern Illinois Walt Crawford Open. The 28th-ranked men's squad raced two weeks ago at the John McNichols Invite, winning the meet with 22 points and four top-five finishes. Zack Smith led the Illini with his runner-up time of 25:19.2. ILLINI MEN RANKED NATIONALLY The Fighting Illini men’s cross country team is currently tied for 27th, along with Columbia, in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll, fourth best in the Big Ten. The men also sit third in the Midwest region behind Oklahoma State and Iowa State. ILLINI WOMEN MOVE UP REGIONAL RANKS Following a sweep of the four duals at Eastern Illinois, the Illini moved up three spots to No. 9 in the latest USTFCCCA regional rankings. The ranking is already a five-spot improvement over their Midwest regional finish last season. FIGHTING ILLINI BEGIN FIRST SEASON AS COMBINED PROGRAM Following the consolidation of the Illinois cross country and track programs, Jake Stewart has been charged with leading both the men’s and women’s distance programs. Now in his sixth season at Illinois, Stewart led the men’s team for the previous five years and most recently led the squad to its first NCAA Cross Country Championship appearance in 30 years. Sarah Haveman joins the staff as an assistant coach after spending five years coaching at Dayton. BRANCHING OUT Leading a young women’s squad in the first year under Coach Stewart will be senior Denise Branch. Having finished first or second on the team in every race she competed in last fall, Branch will look to build a foundation for success in 2017 and beyond. Branch’s best time of the season came at the Iowa Regional Preview meet last October where her personal-record 6,000m time of 21:19 helped lead the Illini to the team title. The Brooklyn, New York native carried that success into the track season where she set new personal-best times in the mile, 1500m, 3,000m and 5,000m. ILLINI MEN BRING CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE Not only did the Illini advance to NCAA Cross Country Championships for the first time since 1986, placing 23rd, the group did so with a lineup mainly comprised of underclassmen. The Illini are just one of four teams to return five or more runners from last year’s NCAA lineup, tying Iowa State and Virginia and just one behind Southern Utah’s six returners. Each of the five Illini back in 2017 have two years of eligibility remaining, including Jon Davis and Zach Dale who are only entering their sophomore season. ILLINI WOMEN FEATURE 16 UNDERCLASSMEN With the change in leadership on the women’s side, the team itself will also look new with 10 incoming freshman joining the team this fall to go along with six returning sophomores. Delaney Appino, Alana Austin, Madeline Bruce, Kelli Callahan, Nicki Cast, Rebecca Craddock, Caroline Fix, Mikaela Lucki, Allison McGrath and Katie Stapleton all begin their Illini careers this fall. UP NEXT The Fighting Illini will contest their second big race in as many weeks when they travel to Louisville, Kentucky for the Greater Louisville Classic. The course for the race will be the same used in November for NCAA Championships. The men's seeded race will begin at 9 a.m. central time with the women's seeded race following at 9:45 a.m. There will be a pair of unseeded races at 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., respectively.
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2017 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CROSS-COUNTRY NOTES
2017 MEN’S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS Luke Brahm (R-Sr.) Princeton University
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 25:37.15 5 (3)
Joe Cowlin (R-Sr.) 25:51.5 Crystal Lake, Ill. 8 (5) Zach Dale (R-So.) Elk Grove, Ill. Jon Davis (So.) Fithian, Ill. Alex Gold (R-Sr.) 25:45.41 25:38.3 Deerfield, Ill. 7 (4) 5 (4) Brayden Hamblen (Fr.) Rock Falls, Ill.
26:14.35 16 (6)
Caleb Hummer (R-So.) Rochester, N.Y.
25:54.43 10 (5)
Alex Keeble (r-Fr.) Mahomet, Ill.
25:17.71 3 (1)
Jack LaLonde (r-Fr.) 25:24.52 25:33.0 Downers Grove, Ill. 4 (2) 4 (3) Dan Lathrop (R-Jr.) Plainfield, Ill. Garrett Lee (R-Sr.) Belvidere, Ill.
26:37.39 26:30.9 20 (7) 14 (6)
Billy Magnesen (R-Jr.) Hinsdale, Ill. Denis O’Callaghan (Sr.) Orland Park, Ill.
25:28.6 3 (2)
27:25.43 38 (8)
Jesse Reiser (Jr.) McHenry, Ill. Luke Schroer (Sr.) Wheaton, Ill. Zack Smith (R-Jr.) 25:19.2 Downers Grove, Ill. 2 (1)
KEY: 1 = 9/1 - Walt Crawford Open ; 2 = 9/9 - John McNichols Invite; 3 = 9/22 - Battle Beantown; 4 = 9/30 - Greater Louisville Classic; 5 = 10/13 Ed Nuttycombe Invite; 6 = 10/20 - Illini Open; 7 = 10/29 - Big Ten Championships; 8 = 11/10 NCAA Regional Championships; 9 = 11/18 NCAA Championships *Open Race
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2017 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CROSS-COUNTRY NOTES
2017 WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Delaney Appino (Fr.) Rockford, Ill. Alana Austin (Fr.) Naperville, Ill. Denise Branch (Sr.) Brooklyn, N.Y. Madeline Bruce (Fr.) Marion, Ill. Kelli Callahan (Fr.) Palos Heights, Ill.
18:42.42 12 (4)
Nick Cast (Fr.) 19:02.28 Aurora, Ill. 21 (7) Nicole Choquette (R-Sr.) Urbana, Ill.
18:28.89 6 (2)
Rebecca Craddock (Fr.) Brunswick, Ohio
17:58.72 3 (1)
Caroline Fix (Fr.) Winnetka, Ill. Vanessa Flaherty (So.) LaGrange, Ill. Nadia Kacmar (So.) St. Charles, Ill. Kristina Kladar (R-Jr.) 20:50.08 Rocktown, Ill. 62 (9) Diane Lipa (So.) Glen Ellyn, Ill. Sarah Madsen (So.) Elmhurst, Ill.
19:36.94 41 (8)
Miranda Marry (Sr.) Paxton, Ill.
18:47.84 14 (5)
Allison McGrath (Fr.) Wheaton, Ill.
18:35.22 7 (3)
Charlotte Nawor (So.) Highland Park, Ill. Grace Rogers (So.) Glen Ellyn, Ill. Morgan Schulz (R-So.) Cary, Ill. Katie Stapleton (Fr.) Downers Grove, Ill.
18:49.44 15 (6)
KEY: 1 = 9/1 - Walt Crawford Open ; 2 = 9/9 - John McNichols Invite; 3 = 9/22 - Battle Beantown; 4 = 9/30 - Greater Louisville Classic; 5 = 10/13 Ed Nuttycombe Invite; 6 = 10/20 - Illini Open; 7 = 10/29 - Big Ten Championships; 8 = 11/10 NCAA Regional Championships; 9 = 11/18 NCAA Championships
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2017 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CROSS-COUNTRY NOTES
TOP 10 ILLINOIS MEN’S PERFORMERS BY DISTANCE 8,000 Meters Name Time Date Meet 1. Dylan Lafond 23:22.4 11/1/15 Big Ten Championships 2. Trent Hoerr 23.39.0 10/13/07 Pre-Nationals 3. Ty Wolf 23:43.0* 11/10/84 NCAA District IV Meet 4. Jeff Jacobs 23:44.0 9/24/83 SIU/Wisconsin T5. Jannis Toepfer 23:50.0 10/19/13 Wisconsin adidas Invite T5. Jacob Nachel 23:50.0 10/13/07 Pre-Nationals 7. Jesse Reiser 23:52.4 11/1/15 Big Ten Championships T-8. Ian Barnett 23:58.0 11/1/15 Big Ten Championships T-8. Hunter Mickow 23:58.0 10/12/12 Wisconsin Invite T-10. Kerry Dickson 23:59.0* 10/1/83 Illinois Invitational T-10. Mike Patton 23:59.0* 10/1/83 Illinois Invitational *on way to a longer distance 10,000 Meters Name Time Date Meet 1. Craig Virgin 28:26.6 11/22/76 NCAA Championships 2. Dave Walters 29:44.0 11/13/76 NCAA District IV Meet 3. Jim Eicken 29:48.0 11/22/76 NCAA Championships 4. Mark Avery 29:51.0 11/22/76 NCAA Championships 5. Ty Wolf 29:55.0 11/10/84 NCAA District IV Meet 6. Trent Hoerr 29:56.0 11/10/07 NCAA Midwest Regional 7. Len Sitko 29:58.0 11/19/90 NCAA Championships T8. Greg Domantay 30:03.9 11/13/82 NCAA District IV Meet T8. Mike Patton 30:03.9 10/01/83 Illinois Invitational 10. Kerry Dickson 30:04.5 11/23/81 NCAA Championships
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2017 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CROSS-COUNTRY NOTES
TOP 10 ILLINOIS WOMEN’S PERFORMERS BY DISTANCE 5,000 Meters Name 1. Kelly McNee 2. Angela Bizzarri 3. Laura Simmering 4. Courtney Yaeger 5. Cassie Hunt 6. Katie Engel 7. Ruth Sterneman 8. Marianne Dickerson 9. Rebekah Garrett 10. Julie Lantis Stephanie Simms
Time Date Meet 16:36 11/10/84 NCAA Midwest Regionals 16:43 9/28/07 Notre Dame Invite 16:46 9/20/91 Illinois State Invite 16:48 9/28/12 Notre Dame Invite 16:52 9/30/05 Notre Dame Invite 16:54 10/3/08 Notre Dame Invite 16:55 11/10/84 NCAA Midwest Regional 17:00 11/19/82 TAC Nationals 17:04 10/15/94 Auburn Invitational 17:07 10/1/83 Illinois Invitational 17:07 9/30/05 Notre Dame Invite
6,000 Meters Name Time Date Meet 1. Angela Bizzarri 19:46 11/23/09 NCAA Championships 2. Alyssa Schneider 19:58.6 11/1/15 Big Ten Championships 3. Cassie Hunt 20:05 11/21/05 NCAA Championships 4. Katie Engel 20:23 10/18/08 Pre-Nationals 5. Stephanie Simms 20:31 11/21/05 NCAA Championships 6. Courtney Yaeger 20:34 10/28/12 Big Ten Championships 7. Kristin Sutherland 20:41 11/1/09 Big Ten Championships 8. Stephanie Morgan 20:46 10 11/13/10 NCAA Midwest Regional 9. Jamie Turilli 20:49 11/13/04 NCAA Midwest Regional 10.Chantelle Groenewoud 20:50.4 10/2/10 Wisconsin adidas Invitational
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2017 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS CROSS-COUNTRY NOTES
JAKE STEWART
HEAD CROSS COUNTRY COACH SIXTH SEASON Since arriving in the fall of 2012, Stewart has guided the Fighting Illini men’s distance program back into the national picture. Stewart has led the Illini to its first cross country NCAA Championships appearance since 1986 in 2016, and assisted the men’s track and field team in winning the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Championship. Additionally, Stewart has built stability in the distance program with back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes in 2015 and 2016. Inheriting a cross country program that had not finished better than sixth at Big Ten Championships since 1996, Stewart guided the Orange and Blue to a runner-up finish at the conference meet in 2015. Also that season, Stewart coached Dylan Lafond to the program’s first All-America honor since 2007, while also tutoring Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jesse Reiser. In 2016, Stewart guided the Illini to its first NCAA Championships in 30 seasons where the team finished 23rd. On the track, the Orange and Blue distance group has totaled four Big Ten individual titles and ten All-American finishes under Stewart. In 2017, Stewart coached Dylan Lafond to a Big Ten title in the steeplchase and Jon Davis to All-America honors in hte 5K as a freshman. During the Illinois’ Big Ten championship season in 2015, Stewart guided Joe McAsey (800m) and Dylan Lafond (steeplechase) to All-America honors as well as the indoor and outdoor 4x400m relay team. Stewart’s impact has extended onto the national stage, as he coached Dylan Lafond to an United States Olympic Trials appearance in the 3,000m steeplechase during the summer of 2016. Prior to coming to Illinois, Stewart made stops at Purdue and Lamar. At the helm of the Boilermakers, Stewart led the men’s cross country team to its best finish since 2008 and recruited teh first Foot Locker All-American in school history. During a three-year stint at Lamar, Stewart guided the program to backto-back Southland cross country conference championships in 2009 and 2010, and was twice named Southland Conference Coach of the Year.
THE STEWART FILE EDUCATION Concordia University, Masters, Sports Administration, 2012 Iona College, B.A. English, 2005
COACHING EXPERIENCE University of Illinois - Head Coach, 2012-present University of Purdue - Head Coach, 2011-12 University of Illinois - Interim Head Coach, 2010-11 Lamar University - Assistant Coach, 2008-10 Iona College - Assistant Coach, 2006-08
COACHING HONORS/AWARDS Midwest Region Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, 2016 Southland Conference Coach of the Year, 2009 and 2010
TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2015 Outdoor Big Ten Track and Field Champions Placed 10th at 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships 2013-16 Drake Relay Hy-Vee Cup Championships Earned first NCAA Team Qualification for Men’s Cross Country in 30 years (2016) 33 weeks ranked in the Top-30 (XC) or Top-25 (Track) 16 weeks ranked in the Top-25 Dual Meet Rankings
INDIVIDUAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS 10 All-American Performers 35 NCAA Qualifiers 3 USATFC Junior All-Americans 4 Individual Big Ten Champions 19 Big Ten All-Conference Performers 10 Illinois school records and 64 additions to All-Time Top-10 Lists 39 Big Ten Point Scorers (Indoor and Outdoor Track) 11 All-Midwest Regional Cross Country Performers 4 Drake Relays Champions 4 University of Illinois Varsity Men’s Sport Highest Team GPA 3 USTFCCCA All-Academic Honorees and 18 Academic All-Big Ten 1 Qualifier for United States Olympic Track and Field Trials 1 Qualifier for European Championships 5 Big Ten Athletes of the Week 1 Big Ten Freshman of the Year 2015 & 2016 FloTrack Top-10 Men’s Distance Recruiting Classes (5 Footlocker Finalists)
becoming the first walk-on in program history to achieve the feat. Stewart earned his Masters degree in Sports Administration from Concordia University in 2012, and his Bachelor of Science in English from Iona College in 2005. He resides in Champaign with his wife, Brandi, and their son, Griffin.
Prior to his tenure at Lamar, Stewart was the assistant coach for the Iona College. In his time with the Gaels, the men’s cross country team finished runner-up in 2007 and 2008, the highest finish of any program in school history, while the women’s team became the first female team in program history to qualify for national championships. Academically, the men’s team was named the NCAA Division I All-Academic Team of the Year in 2006 and 2007. During his time as an undergrad at Iona, Stewart helped the Gaels win four MAAC championships and finish in the top 10 each year. In addition, he was the captain of the squad in 2005, @ILLINIMXC // @ILLINIWXC – #HailToTheOrange