The men’s cross country team concluded its home course part of the season in convincing fashion as the Illini swept the top seven places of the “Pack-It-Up” Challenge at the Arboretum on Friday.

The Illini, who finished with 15 points, won the race for the second year in a row. Illinois-Chicago came in second with 63 points, while Illinois State had 69 and Wisconsin-Milwaukee had 94, in third and fourth places, respectively.

Freshman Jeremy Stevens won his first collegiate race with a time of 24:56 for the 8K course. Stevens paced the team for the first 5K, but then broke free from his teammates after that point.

Although Stevens won the Illini’s first home meet Sept. 1 as an unattached runner, this was the first time Stevens wore an Illinois uniform.

The race was dominated by Illini newcomers as redshirt freshman Rob Pykosz and freshman Jacob Nachel finished in second and third places with a tying time of 25:30. Junior Michael Kelley came in fourth with a 25:36, while senior Maciej Sniegorski came in fifth place with a time of 25:41. Also competing for the Illini were juniors Matt Flaherty (6th place) and Justin Aronson (7th). Senior Dan Stock, who individually qualified for last year’s NCAA Championships, finished in 11th place with a time of 26:13.

The Illini will take a week-long break from racing before traveling to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 29.

Compiled by By Erin Foley