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Sept. 16, 2010
Illinois Intercollegiate Preview 
Illinois Intercollegiate Championships
Friday, Sept. 17 (5:45 p.m.) - 8K race
Weibring Golf Course // Normal, Ill.
Meet Preview
The Fighting Illini men's cross country team will be back in action this Friday, Sept. 17 to compete at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships in Normal, Ill., hosted by Illinois State University. The 8K race begins at 5:45 pm at the Weibring Golf Club and features 39 competing squads.
The men's race will start at 5:45 pm following the women's 5K race, with the award's presentation scheduled for 6:30 pm. A full recap and results will be available at fightingillini.com following the meet.
Last year, Illinois placed second overall, led by a pair of top-10 finishes by Colin Mickow and Dan Kremske. With last year's top five from the event all back for the race this season, the Illini expect to be in the mix for the title once again. McRaven is impressed with the progress his team has already made this year and sees this meet as a great opportunity to compete against the best teams in the state.
Coach McRaven on the Meet
"It's another stepping stone for us. The month of September gives us an opportunity to shake the rust off. We want to do the things in this competition that allows us to continue to run better and better as the year goes on. This is the best position we've been in at this time of the year since I've been here. Everybody's healthy, we are fit, and training has been going well. The guys came off the summer more fit than I've seen since I have been here."
Illini Set to Run
Juniors Chris DeSilva, Kyle Engnell and Jim Riddle will be making their season debuts Friday. Also competing are juniors Colin Mickow and Dan Kremske, who had a one-two finish for the Orange and Blue at the Illini Challenge two weeks ago. Rounding out the lineup are fellow juniors Nathan Bohne, Phil Pompei and Nathan Troester and sophomore Jordan Hebert while freshmen Mark Donohue and Drew Bell will run unattached.
Last Time Out
Two weeks ago, the Fighting Illini men's cross country team opened up its season by winning a sixth consecutive title at the Illini Challenge, paced by a one-two finish from juniors Colin Mickow (18:37) and Dan Kremske (18:39). The squad finished with 19 points, followed by Butler (43), Illinois CC Club (67), SIU - Edwardsville (116), and Danville Area Community College (138).
Five of the top eight runners were Illini, with Mickow leading the pack and taking the title with a time of 18:37. Kremske followed close behind and placed second (18:39), while junior Nathan Bohne (18:46) posted a breakout performance and took fourth. Sophomore Jordan Hebert earned a sixth-place finish with a time of 18:56, two seconds in front of junior Phil Pompei, who took eighth with a time of 18:58 to wrap up the Illini scoring.
Junior Nathan Troester also finished in the top 10, coming in ninth with a time of 19:14. Illinois' three freshmen, Mark Donohue, Jordan Lagomarcino and Manu Kumar, each ran unattached at the season-opening meet.
Up Next
The Orange and Blue will take a week off before heading to Madison, Wis. to compete in the Wisconsin adidas Invitational on Oct. 2, which will be held at the same site as the Big Ten Championships.
