The time has arrived for the Illini to lace up their shoes and start the new season. Their first match happens this Friday in Wisconsin for the Badger Classic, and is one of seven meets the team is set to compete in.
What’s interesting about the meets this season is that all seven take place in either Illinois or Wisconsin. The team will travel between Champaign, Madison and Peoria from now until November, all under the guidance of a new head coach, Eric Johannigmeier.
Before he arrived at Illinois, Johannigmeier spent seven years coaching Virginia Tech, where he led hundreds of athletes to championships. Given his previous success, there’s plenty of hope that he will exude his expertise on the Illini this year.
The team consists of runners from all age groups with five seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen to look out for. One athlete in particular, senior Halle Hill, returns to the Illini for her fourth season. Hill finished 16th in the NCAA Midwest Regionals, and won the Illini Open last year with her personal best in the 5k, with a time of 17 minutes, 30.8 seconds.
After last season, the Illini are looking to improve their rankings in the NCAA Midwest Regionals and aim for the championships. Last year, the team finished 10th out of 32, with no runners clinching a spot in the championships. With a new coaching staff and increased confidence, there’s hope that the Illini will make it further this time around and go the extra mile to win titles.
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This Friday’s matchup in Madison will begin with a 6k on the women’s side. A positive to going back and forth between Illinois and Wisconsin is that the Illini will become familiarized with the Zimmer Championship Course. They can hopefully learn the ins and outs of the course and be well prepared for the meets to come.
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