University of Illinois
Redbird Invitational
Illini Claim Redbird Challenge Title
September 4, 2004 | Men's Cross Country
Sept. 4, 2004
Illinois men's cross country team opened its season today, winning the Redbird Challenge in Bloomington, Ill. The Fighting Illini claimed four of the top five spots with junior Eric Wallor taking top honors, running 19:17.27. Illinois tallied 20 points, ahead of Illinois State which finished with 30 points and Northern Iowa which had 68 points. "We did a very good job today," head coach Paul Pilkington said. "Today showed that we have the depth this season that we didn't have last year. It was fun to watch Illinois at the front of the pack." Wallor, a former junior college All-American running his first race for the Orange and Blue, led the Illini. Taking second place was redshirt freshman Tim Kelly with a time of 19:44.43. In fourth place was freshman Matt Flaherty, followed by Justin Aronson in fifth, Mike Kelley in eighth and Ryan Giiulano in tenth. "Watching Eric Wallor run was a lot of fun," Pilkington said. "After a year of training on his own, he was very much under control all race. We talked about a spot for him to break away and he did. He ran a lot faster than I expected. He'll be in somewhere in our top-five all season. For him to win the first time he put on Illinois colors was great." Illinois will next run at the Illinois Pack-It-Up Challenge next Saturday on its home course at the UI Arboretum. The race is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.
Today's Illinois Results: 1. Eric Wallor (1) 19:17.27 2. Tim Kelly (2) 19:44.43 3. Matt Flaherty (4) 19:57.71 4. Justin Aronson (5) 20:05.40 5. Mike Kelley (8) 20:09.14 6. Ryan Giuliano (10) 20:26.14
