University of Illinois
NCAA Midwest Regionals
Jason Bill Qualifies for Nationals
November 11, 2006 | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 11, 2006
Falcon Heights, Minn. - The Illinois men's cross country team finished seventh for the second-consecutive year at the 2006 Midwest Region Championships hosted by the University of Minnesota on Saturday, Nov. 11 in Falcon Heights, Minn.
Senior Jason Bill automatically qualified for the 2006 NCAA Championships on Nov. 20 by finishing third overall with a time of 30:48.29. This will be his third appearance at the championships after qualifying both in 2002 and 2004. Due to injury, Bill redshirted the 2005 season but came back for his senior season in full force. Head Coach Wendel McRaven was enthusiastic about Bill's performance and is excited to see him race next weekend.
"Jason ran a great race," McRaven said. "He did exactly what he needed to do and ran the best race of his year. I'm very proud of him and his performance, and I'm interested to see what next weekend will bring for him."
Crossing second for Illinois and 27th overall was freshman Jeremy Stevens with a time of 31:46.74. Junior Trent Hoerr came in third for the Illini and 30th overall, finishing the race in 31:53.54. Junior Michael Kelley placed 34th with a time of 32:00.69, and senior Maciej Sniegorski finished 54th with 32:29.99.
The Orange and Blue accumulated 148 points for a seventh place finish. Oklahoma State claimed the regional title with 72 points, followed by Kansas with 88 and Iowa with 121.
Although the season is over for the Illini team as a whole, Jason Bill will continue on to prepare for the 2006 NCAA Championships, which will be held in Terre Haute, Ind.
"The season had its ups and downs," McRaven said. "It may not have ended quite the way we wanted it to, but we set pretty high goals in the beginning of the season. We have a lot to look forward to for Jason and for next season as well."
Illini Results: 1) Jason Bill (3) 30:48.29 2) Jeremy Stevens (27) 31:46.74 3) Trent Hoerr (30) 31:53.54 4) Michael Kelley (34) 32:00.69 5) Maciej Sniegorski (54) 32:29.99 6) Dan Stock (83) 33:24.99 7) Rob Pykosz (84) 33:28.14
