Another year has gone by, 23 years now to be exact, since the Illinois men’s cross country team has raced in the NCAA National Championships. However, head coach Wendel McRaven’s crystal ball sees that changing in the very near future. “This was a good year despite things not clicking as we thought they were,” McRaven said. “There’s a lot of room for this team to grow. As long as they continue to stay positive and improve we’ll be in good shape.”

On Tuesday, McRaven had a meeting where he laid out what will be happening with the team going into the future. The meeting was not very in-depth but was more of a recap of the season.

“I just told them that I look forward to watching the team step up the ladder,” McRaven said. “Just because we didn’t achieve everything that we wanted to achieve this year, we’re going to be better and we’ll expect better performances.”

Heading into the year, McRaven had two main goals for his team. He wanted his team to be top-five in both meets of the championship season — the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. The Illini placed seventh and 10th, respectively, in those meets.

“The season wasn’t a disappointment, but some parts were disappointing,” McRaven said. “The word ‘disappointing,’ that sounds too negative and the positives on the team outweigh the negatives.”

One of those positives — and possibly the biggest — for the Orange and Blue was the performance of sophomore Colin Mickow.

Mickow was the Illini’s top finisher all season and almost became the first runner in two years to qualify for the NCAA National Championships, finishing just 1.6 seconds behind the last qualifying runner. He finished with all-region honors.

McRaven told Mickow that he should put up a picture of the runner who beat him up on his mirror so that every time he looks at it, “He’ll be pissed off and motivated for next year.”

So where will the Illini be this time next year?

“Anything less than nationals will be a disappointing season next year,” McRaven said. “We’re disappointed now (that the team did not qualify this year.)”

Sophomore Nate Troester agrees with McRaven as to what the Illini can accomplish next year.

“The way the results went, I feel that there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Troester said. “While we still did not achieve what we thought we could achieve, we have the tools to do it, we just have to put it together on the right day.”

When asked what his team learned this year, McRaven took a deep breath in thought and responded by saying that the team is more united.

“Probably the best thing that happened this season is that we became a team and grew that bond,” McRaven said. “Everyone generally cares about the team and likes each other, and they are a really tight unit.”

An example of that chemistry is the fact that all 11 sophomores on the team live in the same apartment complex.

“When you have the kind of bond we have, you can see it on the course,” Troester said. “You want to run for not only yourself but your brothers and your team.”

The Illinois cross country runners won’t have much time off, as they also run the long-distance events in track, which starts in January. At that time, they hope to improve on their total physical fitness and mental toughness. Next season, the Illini, made up mostly of sophomores this year, will be a year older.

“We’re looking forward to stepping up the ladder,” sophomore Dan Kremske said. “We’ll be another year older and have another year of experience … (making) us that much better.”