Friday, September 13
Savoy, Ill.
6:00 PM (W) / 6:45 PM (M)
Indiana University
at
Fighting Illini Big Ten Preview
IUXC Men Finish Second, Women Third at the Fighting Illini Big Ten Preview
9/13/2024 9:28:00 PM | Cross Country
SAVOY, Ill. – The Indiana men's and women's cross-country teams saw their training pay off as the men finished second with 55 points and the women third with 84 points at the Fighting Illini Big Ten Preview at the Orange and Blue Golf Course on Friday evening.
The Hoosiers combined for 15 personal-bests, 12 on the women's side and four for the men.
"This was the first opportunity this season to put the team in a competitive race environment," Indiana cross country head coach Eric Heins said. "I wanted to see how they raced together in their training groups, and I think they did a great job with that. They executed those plans well and were very competitive against the Big Ten teams."
In the women's 6K, senior Mariah Wehrle crossed the line first with a seventh-place finish with a time of 20:36.90.
Sophomore Lily Myers was seconds behind Wehrle as she finished ninth with a personal best time of 20:39.10.
"The plan going into it was to work with Mariah through the 4K and push the last 2K," Myers said. "We were right next to each other the whole time. When she came past at 5K, that helped pull me along to the finish. I think we executed the race plan exactly how we should have."
The cream and crimson girls squad saw 12 personal bests including four top 25 finishes in their first competition against Big Ten teams. Senior transfer Taylor Fox (18th, 21:07.20) and junior Katelyn Winton (21st, 21:12.60) both crossed the line with personal best times.
"It was a great to see a lot of Big Ten teams out there," Myers said. "We were close to Wisconsin who is a ranked team, so that was exciting. It helps us know that we can be competitive with them, so I hope it brings a lot of confidence into our training and our next meet over the next few weeks."
The men saw four top-10 finishes and were led by senior Skylar Stidam who crossed the line with a time of 23:47.80. Freshman Dylon Nalley (8th, 23:53.80), Austin Haskett (9th, 23:55.80) and Abe Eckman (10th, 23:59.10) also notched top-10 finishes.
Nalley had an impressive collegiate opener as he finished right in the mix of his veteran training group and earned a top-10 finish.
The race plan was simple according to Nalley. Listen to coach.
"Going into this race I was listening to what coach had prepared for us to do, to stick together in our training groups throughout the race and to push with 2K left," Nalley said. "I was actually a little nervous because it was my first race in college, and it's been a couple of months, but I did had a lot of confidence in myself. I knew that if I believed in my training that I would be okay."
Another key component were his teammates like Stidam, Haskett and Eckman.
"It has been amazing to have the opportunity to train with these guys," Nalley said. "All three of them have run extremely fast times, and I knew going into the season that each week I trained with them would get better and better. I really owe a lot to them because without them I would have had the same result as I did today."
Women's Team Results (6K)
1. Northwestern – 40
2. Wisconsin – 63
3. Indiana – 84
4. Illinois – 121
5. Iowa – 140
6. Purdue – 145
7. Butler – 170
8. Cincinnati – 201
9. Rutgers - 206
Men's Team Results (8K)
1. Wisconsin – 24
2. Indiana – 55
3. Illinois -82
4. Butler – 91
5. Purdue – 118
6. Cincinnati – 156
7. Iowa – 178
8. Rutgers - 248
UP NEXT
The Hoosiers will train for three more weeks, before they head to another competitive meet at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational on October 4.
For complete coverage of everything Indiana track and field and cross country, make sure to follow the teams via X, Facebook and Instagram.
#NeverDaunted
The Hoosiers combined for 15 personal-bests, 12 on the women's side and four for the men.
"This was the first opportunity this season to put the team in a competitive race environment," Indiana cross country head coach Eric Heins said. "I wanted to see how they raced together in their training groups, and I think they did a great job with that. They executed those plans well and were very competitive against the Big Ten teams."
In the women's 6K, senior Mariah Wehrle crossed the line first with a seventh-place finish with a time of 20:36.90.
Sophomore Lily Myers was seconds behind Wehrle as she finished ninth with a personal best time of 20:39.10.
"The plan going into it was to work with Mariah through the 4K and push the last 2K," Myers said. "We were right next to each other the whole time. When she came past at 5K, that helped pull me along to the finish. I think we executed the race plan exactly how we should have."
The cream and crimson girls squad saw 12 personal bests including four top 25 finishes in their first competition against Big Ten teams. Senior transfer Taylor Fox (18th, 21:07.20) and junior Katelyn Winton (21st, 21:12.60) both crossed the line with personal best times.
"It was a great to see a lot of Big Ten teams out there," Myers said. "We were close to Wisconsin who is a ranked team, so that was exciting. It helps us know that we can be competitive with them, so I hope it brings a lot of confidence into our training and our next meet over the next few weeks."
The men saw four top-10 finishes and were led by senior Skylar Stidam who crossed the line with a time of 23:47.80. Freshman Dylon Nalley (8th, 23:53.80), Austin Haskett (9th, 23:55.80) and Abe Eckman (10th, 23:59.10) also notched top-10 finishes.
Nalley had an impressive collegiate opener as he finished right in the mix of his veteran training group and earned a top-10 finish.
The race plan was simple according to Nalley. Listen to coach.
"Going into this race I was listening to what coach had prepared for us to do, to stick together in our training groups throughout the race and to push with 2K left," Nalley said. "I was actually a little nervous because it was my first race in college, and it's been a couple of months, but I did had a lot of confidence in myself. I knew that if I believed in my training that I would be okay."
Another key component were his teammates like Stidam, Haskett and Eckman.
"It has been amazing to have the opportunity to train with these guys," Nalley said. "All three of them have run extremely fast times, and I knew going into the season that each week I trained with them would get better and better. I really owe a lot to them because without them I would have had the same result as I did today."
Women's Team Results (6K)
1. Northwestern – 40
2. Wisconsin – 63
3. Indiana – 84
4. Illinois – 121
5. Iowa – 140
6. Purdue – 145
7. Butler – 170
8. Cincinnati – 201
9. Rutgers - 206
Men's Team Results (8K)
1. Wisconsin – 24
2. Indiana – 55
3. Illinois -82
4. Butler – 91
5. Purdue – 118
6. Cincinnati – 156
7. Iowa – 178
8. Rutgers - 248
UP NEXT
The Hoosiers will train for three more weeks, before they head to another competitive meet at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational on October 4.
For complete coverage of everything Indiana track and field and cross country, make sure to follow the teams via X, Facebook and Instagram.
#NeverDaunted
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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