Kris Cunningham has been an important part of the men’s cross country team since his freshman year.

As a freshman, Cunningham was a walk-on. He was the only freshman to compete in the team’s first meet of the season that year.

Now as a senior – the only one on the team – Cunningham’s role on the team has expanded.

“I definitely think I’m a team leader, but that’s only because I’m an older guy,” Cunningham said. “It’s not like everyone looks at a certain individual for leadership or advice.”

But junior Jason Bill disagrees with Cunningham.

“Kris shows his leadership through his actions,” Bill said. “He’s not afraid to speak up in practice. He’s a leader in every aspect.”

Junior Jon Houseworth says his relationship with Cunningham goes beyond practice.

“We’ve been friends since he was a sophomore and I was a freshman,” Houseworth said. “I e-mailed him when I was a senior in high school and he helped me make my decision to go to Illinois. He’s a great runner and a great friend.”

Cunningham recently dropped nine seconds at the Big Ten Championship in Iowa, breaking a personal best and placing 39th overall. He said this was his first race this year in which he ran well.

“I only ran well at the Big Ten Championship,” Cunningham said. “Hopefully this season’s highlight is still to come.”

This weekend, Cunningham will compete at NCAA Regionals in what could be his last meet for the men’s cross country team. But he says the team could vie for one of two spots to qualify as a team for NCAA Nationals.

“If we beat Iowa, we’ll go to Nationals,” Cunningham said. “We haven’t run up to our potential. There’s no team in this regional that can easily beat us. If we run to our potential, we’ll be at Nationals.”

Cunningham has also set goals for himself for this weekend’s meet.

“I want to race head-to-head with Iowa’s top three runners,” he said.

Coach Paul Pilkington says this is a realistic goal for Cunningham.

“He tends to run better with a longer race, and Regionals is 10,000-meters,” Pilkington said. “I expect him to come through and race well. He came through last year and I expect him to come through again this year.”

Cunningham thinks his senior season has been inconsistent and hopes to finish on a high note.

His up-and-down season consisted of a 89th place showing at the Roy Griak Invitational in September when he ran the 8,000-meter race in a time of 26:04. He also placed 139th at Pre-Nationals in October, running the race in a time of 25:40.04.

“I came into the season in shape, but Pre-Nationals was disappointing,” Cunningham said. “It’s been up and down, but I hope to break through at Regionals.”