Senior Katie Porada led a young group of runners for the Illinois women’s cross-country team at the Illini Open on Friday as the team finished in fourth place.
“I was really pleased with our effort today,” head coach Scott Jones said. “They raced aggressively, and they raced well.”
Porada finished with the best time at the meet with a time of 17 minutes, 35 seconds. Most of those who will be running in the Big Ten Championships on Sunday did not run in the meet; however, Porada missed a few meets at the beginning of the season and felt that it would benefit her and the team if she were to run.
“Katie ran a really effective race,” Jones said. “She hasn’t raced as much this year, so she felt that she needed another effort like this to get her prepared for the championship portion of the season. I thought that was tremendously insightful on her part.”
Freshman Megan Lemersal finished next for the Illini at 18:58 and 16th overall. She was followed by Valarie Bobart (19) at 19:02, Michelle Frigo (28) at 19:11, as well as Kim Seger (30) at 19:13 and Ellie Palacios (43) at 19:50, both of whom competed in their first collegiate 5K. The team finished with 84 points, which earned a fourth-place finish out of five teams.
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This meet was the second opportunity in two weeks for some young runners to get some meet experience. Most of those who competed in the Illini Open also competed in the Bradley two weeks ago.
“I was pleased with the approach our young kids had,” Jones said. “Every time they get to put on the uniform and race, it’s a good opportunity for them. They were excited about this, and a little bit nervous also, but they handled those nerves well, and I was pleased with their races.”
The Illini Open was the last meet in the regular season, which welcomes the beginning of championship meet season. Although the team had strong performances during the season, the team will now prepare itself for the part of the season the team has been working toward all year.
“We have two major tests ahead of us (the Big Ten meet and the regional meet),” Jones said. “We’ve really made a lot of progress this season, but we really have a chance to boost our overall season grade.”
The Illini will open the championship portion of the season Sunday at the Big Ten Championships in West Lafayette, Ind.
Michal can be reached at [email protected] and @bennythebull94.
