Illini finishes 10th at championships
June 26, 2006
Cassie Hunt ended her first season as a member of the Illinois women’s track team on a high note Saturday, finishing tenth overall in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the USA Track and Field championships in Indianapolis.
Hunt’s time of 10:16.54 was best among collegiate athletes in the field by more than eight seconds and close to Nike’s Lisa Galaviz, who finished first with a time of 9:57.58. Distance coach Karen Harvey was very pleased with Hunt’s performance in an event that featured some experienced national competitors.
“This was great for Cassie,” Harvey said in a press release. “She was tired, but she did her best. This is the experience Cassie is going to need for next year when she is a senior. Cassie had to do this and is taking away a lot of knowledge from the meet. Now we’ll take a break and once we get back to training we’ll work harder than ever before.”
Hunt went into the final day of the competition after hearing that she was named a member of ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-America second team for her success in the classroom as well as on the track.
The Illinois track and field team ended their 2005-2006 season on Saturday. The team will take a break during the summer before preparation for the 2006-2007 track and cross country seasons in the fall.