The Illinois men’s cross-country team on Friday will attempt to do something it has not accomplished in 26 years: clinch a berth in the NCAA Championships. The Illini will look to outdo their outcome at last year’s NCAA Midwest Regional, in which they finished fifth as a team and sent two runners — Jordan Hebert and Jim Riddle — to the national championships.

“I’m hoping to see the guys come out and try to do something special,” Hebert said. “I want the team to realize how great of an opportunity this is and run with a fierce, fighting attitude.”

The Illini will run 10K instead of the usual 8K distance at the Missouri State course in Springfield, Mo. 

To conquer the challenge, head coach Jake Stewart said, the strategy for the Illini will be to keep upperclassmen Jannis Toepfer, Hunter Mickow and Hebert at the front of the pack to help the younger runners — many who haven’t run 10K competitively.

“Obviously, our biggest challenge at the regionals will be moving up to the 10K distance,” Stewart said. “We are a team that can transition well to a longer distance, so I am confident that we will be able to overcome that obstacle.” 

A number of high-quality teams will compete at the Midwest Regional, including three teams hailing from the state of Oklahoma: No. 1-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 19 Tulsa. The Illini are ranked No. 5 in the Midwest heading into the regionals.

Three redshirt freshmen in Ian Barnett, Tommy King and Sam Telfer are also scheduled to run, along with true freshman Jereme Atchison, but Illinois is confident heading into Friday meet, partly because of its experience.

“This is not new for us. We are used to having to compete in a big-meet environment,” Stewart said. “There are no new pressures that we have not faced as we step up to the regional meet.”

Following the team’s fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, Illinois used the week off before the regionals to get in shape for the 10K distance. The team’s main focus during practice has been to acclimate to the longer distance and to continue to work on closing the gap among its top-five runners.  

“We had a great 10K workout last week and have been doing some hard miles,” King said. “Everything we have done in practice over the last week or so has done a lot to boost the confidence of all of us and the coaching staff.”

The Illini will have to either have to finish top two or as a wild card in third or fourth place to advance to next weekend’s NCAA Championships. Though the Illini haven’t fared well historically, Hebert is confident in the team’s chances.

“I was all-region last year, so I expect to be all-region again this year,” Hebert said. “As a team, I think we can make it, I think we are in a good position to qualify.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected].