University of Illinois
Roy Griak Invite
Illini WXC Finishes Competition at Griak
September 24, 2016 | Women's Cross Country
Blazek leads team with time of 23:16
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – For the second consecutive race, junior Audrey Blazek led the Fighting Illini Women's Cross-Country team, timing 23:16 in the 6,000m at the 31st Roy Griak Invite. As a team, the Orange & Blue placed 23rd out of the 34 teams in the field, but beat out Big Ten foe Iowa that they had lost to earlier in the season.
"I was really pleased with how we handled the entire meet situation," explained Head Coach Scott Jones. "I thought we accepted that has the conditions throughout. I thought we did a good job with our focus and effort. We weren't quite as cohesive as a team, so we had a little bit greater separation. But, overall, I was impressed by our overall growth and development."
A junior from Naperville, Illinois, Blazek moved steadily through the field, holding a 6:15 pace, passing 50 runners between the 3,000m and 5,000m mark, and another 40 competitors in the race's final 3,000m. Despite soggy conditions, Blazek's time was a 10-second improvement over her performance last year on the Les Bolstad Golf Course.
"She's been very consistent and deliberate with her training," said Jones. "She's been effective with what she's done. I think that, and maturity, leads to increased confidence. She's really stepped into the role of being a team leader in a very substantial fashion. I'm really proud of what she's done."
Following Blazek was Denise Branch who finished second on the team with a time of 23:24, while senior Amanda Fox was the third Illini to come through the chute, timing 23:45.
Rounding out the point-scorers for the Coach Jones were veterans Valerie Bobart and Kim Seger. Bobart clocked in at an even 24:00, while Seger came through 20 seconds later. Like Blazek, the time for Seger marked an improvement over her time at last year's meet.
The Orange & Blue will be back in action next weekend as they compete at the Iowa Regional Preview on Saturday, October 1 at 10 a.m. central time.
Illinois Results (Full Results)
80. Audrey Blazek, 23:16
96. Denise Branch, 23:24
123. Amanda Fox, 23:45
139. Valerie Bobart, 24:00
164. Kim Seger, 24:20
223. Megan Lemersal, 25:56
227. Diane Lipa, 26:05
