University of Illinois
Bluegrass Cross Country Invite
@IlliniMXC In Bluegrass Invitational
September 11, 2015 | Men's Cross Country
Seven Illini Set To Compete
Meet PREVIEW
The Fighting Illini will look to build off of their Illini Challenge success in Lexington, Kentucky at the Bluegrass Cross-Country Invitational. The Illini will run at 9am on Saturday, September 12.
Coach Stewart on the Meet
"We're bringing back a large contingent of guys who ran at home for us last week and putting them back on the line Saturday at Kentucky. Last Friday was a very controlled effort that Kentucky will now be the first opportunity for our group to be in a competitive environment, I'm eager to see how some of our younger guys respond. We continue to preach to this team to approach every race opportunity with the primary goal to be compete to the best of their ability. Saturday provides our guys a chance to continue to develop the racing habits we want to carry through the fall. We are plugging into the line-up Paul Zeman and Sean Pengelly. Both Paul and Sean have handled the work thus far this fall comfortably and will jump into this race with some of our younger athletes and provide the leadership I know they're capable of showing. This race is the first opportunity for this program to develop its identity this fall, we want to compete, except whatever challenges the race throws at us and walk-on with our momentum going in the right direction."
ILLINI SET TO RUN
Seven Illini are set to compete at this weekend's meet in Lexington, Kentucky. Senior Paul Zeman will make his season debut, while Michigan Tech transfer, Sean Pengelly, will don the Orange and Blue for the first time. Rounding out the seven are five of the top-six finishers at last weekend's Illini Challenge: Zack Smith, Dan Lathrop, Garrett Lee, Billy Magnesen, and Alex Gold.
LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
Competing along side the Fighting Illini this Saturday will be four other schools from around the Kentucky and Ohio area. Miami (OH) will travel down to Kentucky, while Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State will join the host, Kentucky, at the Bluegrass Invitational.
LAST TIME OUT
The Fighting Illini won in convincing fashion last week at the Illini Challenge. The Orange and Blue opened the season by taking the top-seven spots, including meet-winner Jereme Atchison, who broke the tape with a time of 19:06.6. Zack Smith and Dan Lathrop followed Athison with a time of 19:07.0, while Garrett Lee and Billy Magnesen rounded out the top-5 with times of 19:07.1 and 19:07.3, respectively.
2015 Illini Challenge - Illinois Results
1. Jereme Atchison, 19:06.6
2. Zack Smith, 19:07.0
3. Dan Lathrop, 19:07.0
4. Garrett Lee, 19:07.1
5. Billy Magnesen, 19:07.3
6. Alex Gold, 19:07.3
7. Joe Cowlin, 19:14.0
8. Liam Markham, 19:14.1
22. Joe McAsey, 20:24.8
24. Jack Driggs, 20:27.4
2015 Illini Challenge - Team Results
1. ILLINOIS - 15
2. Missouri - 50
Up Next
On Friday, September 18 the Orange and Blue will head north to Big Ten country for the Spartan Invite in Lansing, Michigan.
