For weeks, head coach Jake Stewart and his men’s cross country team toiled over their lineups, producing a wide array of successful races, intriguing performances and impressive debuts. 

Now, at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday, the toughest race the Illini will run to date, comes the time to turn all tinkering into an final product. While this kind of situation usually inspires nerves and fear in those who are about to face it, the team seems to be excited for an opportunity to prove itself.

“I think there is a sense of excitement throughout the group,” Stewart said. “It’s been a long build-up. We’re ready to get in there and get a sense of where we are at and race in the big meet.”

In Kentucky, the Illini will be running a lineup of some of their best performers:  freshmen Jesse Reiser, Zack Smith, Dan Lathrop and Billy Magnesen, juniors Sean Pengelly and Dylan Lafond, and seniors Ian Barnett, Paul Zeman and Liam Markham. While this line-up isn’t guaranteed to be the squad that the Illini will roll out later in the season, it gives an idea what the regular lineup might look like.

“I think we have a very good team,” Stewart said. “We’re going to beat some people. We don’t need to go out and do anything beyond our abilities to be successful.”

In terms of competition, this meet will be unlike the races that Illinois has ran in the past that featured mostly smaller teams from the Midwest. The field will consist of 118 colleges, which makes it one of the largest cross country meets in the United States. A good amount of this meet’s large field will feature many ranked teams and NCAA powerhouses such as No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 8 Iona College and No. 10 Michigan. While Illinois continues to focus on its own racing, according to Smith, the Illini will certainly be looking to see how they stack up against the tough Big Ten competition in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Many Illinois runners will be important to keep an eye on come Saturday for a variety of different reasons. Pengelly has consistently led the Illini in all of his performances and could certainly do so again. Smith trailed Pengelly by only seconds in the Bluegrass Invite and said he feels that he is in much better condition from his last race. Reiser started his debut at a fantastic pace, but due to his inexperience with 8,000 meter races, fell off from his pace. With a race under his belt, Reiser could potentially impress in his second try. Barnett and Zeman have both run well in their previous events and could use their experience to help the Illini. Additionally Lafond, a track and field All-American for steeplechase, will make his competitive season debut.

“There is a lot of excitement surrounding the team,” Barnett said. “We haven’t really had the entire top seven running together in any race, so we really don’t know what individual is going to land in our top five.”

On Saturday in Louisville, the Illini will look to see if all of this hype will translate to something to really get excited about: a team that can compete with the best of the Big Ten.

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@Will_Most