University of Illinois
Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite
Illini MXC Takes Fifth at Joe Piane Invite
September 30, 2016 | Men's Cross Country
Four Illini place in top-50
Results: Blue Race | Open Race
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Four Illini finished in the top-50, two inside the top-30, as the Fighting Illini Men's Cross-Country team placed fifth at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invite on Friday afternoon. With seven ranked schools in the meet, the Illini combined for a score of 183, finishing ahead of four ranked opponents and just behind Providence (182) and No. 9 Eastern Kentucky (168). No. 20 Mississippi won the meet with a team score of 83.
"We put ourselves out there, and I was really proud of them for that," said Head Coach Jake Stewart. "We beat some really good teams and we closed the gap on Eastern Kentucky, a team that beat us pretty handedly a couple weeks ago at Kentucky, and were [one] point from Providence."
Coming off of the hilly and soggy terrain of the Roy Griak meet last weekend, the Illini took advantage of the more favorable conditions at the Burke Golf Course to gain confidence entering the second month of the season.
"Psychologically speaking, I've been impressed all week in how we've bounced back," explained Stewart. "They collectively came to me and said they wanted to run again this weekend. That wasn't the plan, but they all felt like it was imperative that we got back into a race environment quickly and show where we are as a team because we didn't feel Griak was indicative of where we are."
Freshman Jon Davis led the Illini, as he clocked his fastest 8,000m run of the season with a time of 24:13.0 to place 27th overall and first on the team. Just off of Davis' pace was sophomore Jesse Reiser (30th/24:15.1) and senior Dylan Lafond (31st/24:15.9), coming through the chute within a second of each other.
Not far behind was senior Sean Pengelly (43rd/24:25.2) in fourth, running his fastest 8,000m since transferring to Illinois last season.
"It's a maturity [for Pengelly,"] Stewart said. "For him coming in last year, his first year at the Division I level, at times he may have gotten a little overwhelmed. But, now having a year behind him, and being in a lot of races like this, he's calm and very confident in the way he runs. It was a big step for him today on this course with the way that it sets up for him to have that sort of performance."
Helping the team finish strong was a Dan Lathrop (52nd/24:33.1), Alex Gold (55th/24:33.9), Zack Smith (24:35.6) and Zach Dale (24:38.2), as the foursome worked as a unit to navigate the final mile of the race.
"It was really cool to watch those guys feed off of each other late in the race," said Stewart. "At every point in the last mile, one of those guys would make a surge and the rest of the group responded. It wasn't just one guy, and that's something we've talked a lot about since I've been here. Today was the first time that I can remember seeing a group like that feed off one another, and get each other through some tough patches. That's something that we have to continue to do going forward."
Up next, the Fighting Illini will compete at the Ed Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invite on October 14 in Madison, Wisconsin. The men's race is scheduled to begin at 11:40 a.m. central time.
Team Results:
1. Mississippi – 83
2. UTEP – 99
3. Eastern Kentucky – 168
4. Providence – 182
5. Illinois – 183
Illinois Blue Race Results:
27. Jon Davis, 24:13.0
30. Jesse Reiser, 24:15.1
31. Dylan Lafond, 24:15.9
43. Sean Pengelly, 24:25.2
52. Dan Lathrop, 24:33.1
55. Alex Gold, 24:33.9
60. Zack Smith, 24:35.6
68. Zach Dale, 24:38.2
97. Billy Magnesen, 24:53.8
Illinois Open Race Results:
6. Luke Brahm, 25:17.9
10. Garrett Lee, 25:39.2
12. Joe Cowlin, 25:47.5
