University of Illinois
NCAA Championships
Alyssa Schneider Ready for NCAA Championships
November 20, 2015 | Women's Cross Country
Fifth-Year Senior Prepares For Final Race
Champiagn, Ill. – Alyssa Schneider has been the model of consistency for the University of Illinois' women's cross-country team for the past four seasons, a career she will write the final chapter for tomorrow at NCAA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. As a fifth-year senior with no track eligibility remaining, Schneider will look to combine her 2013 NCAA Championships experience with this year's success to end her Illini career in style. Saturday's race will commence at 11 a.m. central time with the awards
Schneider has finished first on the team in every meet she has competed in, including first overall at both the Illini Challenge and Country Financial ISU Invite. After going a month without competing in a meet, Schneider brought her best at Big Ten Championships where she ran the sixth fastest 6K in Illinois history, coming through the chute at 19:58.6 and earning First Team All-Big Ten honors for her third place finish. Two weeks later in Lawrence, Kansas, Schneider upped the ante again to take second place at the NCAA Midwest Regional, once again garnering first team honors. The top-four finish guaranteed an automatic individual bid to NCAA Championships.
The senior has led the Illini both on the course and in the classroom throughout her five years on campus. After redshirting her first season, Schneider led the team at her first NCAA regional, placing twelfth overall. As a sophomore, the Bartlett native finished first on the team in every meet she competed on her way to her first NCAA Championships appearance. She led the team once again as a junior, only once finishing outside of first on the team, placing first on the team at the regional meet. Her excellence and leadership extends into the classroom as she has been named Academic All-Big Ten and USTFCCCA All-Academic each of the last three seasons.
