Gray skies and showers did little to slow Illinois cross country last weekend, as it finished second of 29 in the Bradley Pink Classic on Oct. 13.
“The course was a total mess,” said senior Jack Roberts. “We were the third race of the day, so it was pretty sloppy out there.”
Despite the subpar conditions, Roberts posted a time of 24:08.40 and took first place for the second straight meet, a feat he had never accomplished in his cross country career to that point. It was by no means under regular circumstances either, as the poor weather meant that Roberts and the Illini had to make a fair amount of adjustments.
“I think there’s a lot of things going into it,” Roberts said. “You can’t necessarily take the shortest path every time. Sometimes, you’re better off going in a spot where it’s drier or less muddy.”
Sophomore Alex Partlow finished fifth overall with a time of 24:22.30, while sophomore Brady Masters took 10th with a time of 24:37.00.
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Illinois was in first at the five, six and seven-kilometer markers but fell back at the very end. The Illini finished with 121 points, a close second to IUPUI and its 118 points.
Junior Anthony Maida finished 17th with a time of 24:39.50, and sophomore William Merrick placed 88th with a time of 25:32.20 to round out the scoring.
Also in the race for Illinois were senior Evan Cummins, who finished with a time of 26:00.20, and junior Tyler Cushing, who was just short of Cummins with a time of 26:04.20.
Freshman Kyle Clark, running in the 1:30 p.m. open race, finished fourth overall with a time of 25:20.70. Senior Will O’Brien and freshman Shawn Juliette also ran in the open race, finishing 53rd and 69th overall, respectively.
The Illini ended the regular season with two first-place finishes and two second-place finishes across their four meets. Illinoisʼ next time out will be at the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, on Oct. 27. Roberts believes the team is not shying away from that elevated stage.
“I think we’re all really looking forward to it,” Roberts said. “We still have some things to clean up as a team, but we’re going into it with a really good mindset right now. We’re in a really good place.”
