Illinois men’s and women’s cross country competed at the NCAA Midwest Regionals on Friday, Nov. 15, in Peoria, Illinois. The headlining performance for the Illini was by senior Halle Hill, who finished No. 6 in the women’s 6K, qualifying for the NCAA Cross Country National Championships.
After the Big Ten championships two weeks prior, where the men’s team placed No. 9 and the women No. 10, both teams competed against many more schools, with around 30 represented in each respective meet.
Nearing the top of the Hill
It wasn’t a personal best day for Hill, but her time of 19:55.74 qualified her for the national race. It was her second consecutive appearance in the Midwest Regionals, and after she finished No. 16 last fall and earned all-region honors, she did not look back this time.
The No. 6 finish is among her best this fall and is her second-best time on the season, only slower than her personal best time in the Big Ten championship. This marks Hill’s first appearance in the National Championships race and the first Illini to do so since Olivia Howell qualified in 2022.
Hill’s finish over the weekend was 10 positions better than her appearance in the regional meet last year. The senior picked up the pace this time to punch her ticket to the final race and give her a chance to etch her name in Illini history.
Overall women’s results
The Illini sent seven runners to Peoria to compete in the 6K race. As a team, Illinois finished No. 8 out of 33 teams with a score of 261. Big Ten rivals Minnesota and Northwestern finished in No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, with scores of 76 and 103. Nebraska’s 181 was also good enough for fifth.
Hill headlined the team with her championship-qualifying No. 6 finish, but not to be outdone, sophomore Avril Andre posted a 20:16.45 to finish No. 14. Finishing a few seconds after that was senior Sam Poglitsch, who ended her season in No. 37 with a time of 20:45.02.
Those three runners were among the fastest in the field, with Andre and Poglitsch speeding up along with Hill and improving their finishes from last year. Andre jumped way up the result board by a whopping 44 positions, and Poglitsch moved up by six spots.
Deeper in the field, sophomore Mabry Bruhn timed in at 21:32.94 to finish No. 101. Then, senior Daniela Hubble finished just behind at 21:34.47 to place No. 105. Bringing up the rear for the Illini were junior Audrey Ginsberg and freshman Kennady Anderson at No. 121 and No. 148, respectively, with times of 21:48.91 and 22:15.37.
Personal bests galore
It was a day of personal best finishes for the men’s runners. Of the seven athletes representing the orange and blue, six ran for personal best finishes. The highest-finishing Illini was junior Alex Partlow, who clocked in at 29:54.14. This was good enough to finish No. 23 along with a personal best.
Next were juniors Joshua Daggert and William Merrick at No. 43 and No. 45, respectively. They ended just a couple of seconds apart at 30:34.73 and 30:36.09. Senior Anthony Maida was next in line at No. 59 with a time of 30:43.44, followed by senior Stephen Moody in 65th, scoring a time of 30:49.48. All of these were demonstrations of the team’s hard work paying off.
The only Illini not to run for a personal best was senior Tyler Cushing at No. 74 with a time of 30:58.29. The last personal best finish was that of junior Brady Masters, who finished No. 99. He completed his efforts with a time of 31:14.37.
The Illini showed more speed this time as every runner placed in the top 100 on the leaderboard. Although none qualified for the national race this weekend, the team is taking great steps in that direction with faster runs and higher finishes across the board.
As a team, Illinois placed No. 8 out of 29 teams in the 10K race with a score of 230. They were the highest-finishing team out of the Big Ten’s four representatives. Minnesota finished with a score of 283, which was good for No. 10 and second in the Big Ten teams.
What’s ahead?
Hill will compete in the National Championships this Saturday, Nov. 23, in Madison, Wisconsin. The women’s 6K race is slated to begin at 9:20 a.m.
shapero3@dailyillini.com
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