Full Results

Champaign, Ill. – The Fighting Illini wrapped up the regular season portion of their schedule with the Illini Open. Jereme Atchison won his second meet of the season, finishing first out of the 54-person field with a time of 25:23.1

"I thought Jereme ran really well," said head coach Jake Stewart. "He ran a race a week ago, and bounced back. We don't typically have a lot of guys run two 8Ks in a week, and he looked really good. He was out on his own, out by himself, and he looked very controlled and very comfortable throughout. It's building off of what he's done all fall. He's had a really great year. He's really put the work in, and he's run the best he's run in a really long time. I was pleased to see how effortless it looked for him out there today."

Jack Driggs and Sean Pengelly were the other two Illini who ran in an orange jersey today, Jack Driggs finishing 15^th overall. Pengelly ran the first 5,000 meters, but did not complete the race as designed by the team.

In addition to the three upperclassmen, Coach Stewart had three Illini run unattached in this afternoon's competition. Zach Dale led the trio, finishing 11^th overall. Tony Zea and Caleb Hummer rounded out the performance finishing 21^st and 37^th, respectively.

 "It was really just to gain experience," said Coach Stewart. "We just want to build fitness and build strength, and get them through the transition that they're going to have in their first semester on campus. The more they can run an 8K and prepare for next year, that's a positive. We don't get too caught up with results. We just want them to get through the fall healthy and prepare them for an indoor season coming up and their first fall in uniform next year."

Up Next: Illinois will prepare for next weekend's Big Ten Championship meet. Race begins at 10am on November 1. 

Team Scores:

1. Purdue – 17
2. Illinois State – 45
3. Butler – 74
4. Loyola – 99

Individual Scores (out of 54):

1. Jereme Atchison, 25:23.1

11. Zach Dale (u), 26:13.1

15. Jack Driggs, 26:21.9

21. Tony Zea (u), 26:49.1

37. Caleb Hummer (u), 27:57.5