Editor’s note: This article is a part of The Daily Illini’s Semester in Review issue. Regular publication will resume Friday, Jan. 11.

The Illinois women’s cross-country team’s season can best be described as sporadic.

There were ups, including a first-place team finish at the Illinois Intercollegiate meet, and downs, such as a 17th-place finish at Pre-Nationals.

“I would say that we took a big step forward in our confidence and culture,” senior Courtney Yaeger said. “The next step is to make it show on the track.”

Illinois started the season by placing fifth out of eight teams on its home course in the first race of the season, the Illini Challenge.

The Illini followed that up with a better performance in Normal, Ill., as they finished first out of six at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships. Yaeger finished first for the Illinois and second overall, leading to Big Ten women’s cross-country co-Athlete of the Week honors.

Illinois then had arguably its best performance of the season at the Notre Dame Invitational. The Illini placed fifth, behind four teams who were then ranked in the top 20 nationally. Illinois head coach Jeremy Rasmussen said the team’s success was based largely because the group ran well together, with Yaeger leading the way and its second- and third-place runners finishing within a second of one another, as well as the fourth- and fifth-place finishers.

Illinois then split the squad to compete at both the Bradley Invitational and the Pre-National meet.

At both meets, the Illini showed youth, Rasmussem said, but it was a learning experience. Illinois finished 17th out of 38 teams at Pre-Nationals and placed only one runner in the top 100 at Bradley.

From there, Illinois moved onto the Illini Open, the second and final home meet this season. The Illini ran a strong race on their home course with sophomore Colette Falsey taking first overall, and three of the other four Illinois runners placed in the top 10. The team took second out of four teams to Bradley, one of the top Midwestern teams this year.

At the Big Ten Championships, Illinois improved three spots from its last-place finish last year. But the mood was somber after the race though, as the Illini had been hoping for a top-five placing.

The season ended for most Illini with the Hoosier Open — the only non-team-scored meet this season — in which the team placed all of its runners in the top 25.

Illinois’ final competition was the NCAA Midwest Regional, a meet in which the Illini came away with bittersweet victories. The team, with its ninth-place finish, did not place high enough to advance to the national meet but did have two stellar individual performances.

Yaeger, after a fall that more than likely cost her a top-10 finish, ran one of her best races of the season, placing 25th overall. Redshirt freshman Alyssa Schneider finished 12th, pacing the Illini throughout the race. Both runners finished with all-region honors for their performances.

Rasmussen described the season as progressive.

“Obviously we fell short of some of the goals we set at the beginning of the year,” Rasmussen said. “But we definitely made progress forward. Our group has become a lot more confident, and it’s still a young group, so I think with the things they learned this year, they can step up and make this team the successful team that they want it to be.”

Nicholas can be reached at [email protected] and @IlliniSportsGuy.