Team Dominant at Jingle Bells

Eleven Cougars competed in the Jingle Bells Run for Arthritis last Saturday and all finished high in the over 800 runner field. Brittany Carius finished first in the women's race, 35th overall, with a time of 19:04, and Robert Deatherage won the 20-24 age group for the men, finishing 6th overall. He clocked 17:01 in the 5k race.

Other team finishers:

Alyssa Imig - 2nd in 15-19

Michelle Carter - 3rd in 15-19

Kayla Christ - 4th in 15-19

Raven Pettry - 5th in 15-19

Rebekah Baer - 16th in 15-19

Carrie Bunting - 5th in 20-24

JQ Smith - 7th in 15-19

Kyle Lueken - 8th in 15-19

Coach Herold - 4th in 55-59 (a mere 1:27 out of 3rd!)

Jill Kennelly of Elmwood, a recent ICC runner, finished 1st in the women's 20-24 age group.

Thanks to all who participated in this charitable event!

Women finish 10th at Nationals

The ICC Women's Cross Country team achieved the highest finish ever for a Cougar team in Division 1 by finishing 10th of 35 teams at the national meet held at Newman Golf Course in Peoria. Brittany Carius came within 2 seconds of gaining her second All-American finish with her 16th place finish in the fine time of 18:58. Also under 20:00 were Kayla Christ in 19:48 and Raven Pettry in 19:59. Alyssa Imig, Bonni Martin, Michelle Carter, and Olivia Coker completed the team. On a side note, the Cougars were the second team to finish without the use of a foreign athlete.

The men's team completed their season by finishing 24th of the 35 team field. They were led by the 49th place finish of Jaquaileon Smith. The freshman finished in a time of 27:06. Sophomores Shane Leiby, Cory Shoopman, Robert Deatherage, and Kyle Lueken completed their careers as scorers for the Cougars. Josh Battles and Nick Leiby finished in the 6 and 7 positions.

Team titles were won by the women's team of Central Arizona and the men from Rend Lake.

Three members from each of the Cougar teams will return next year to try to improve their positions in Spartenburg, SC, while the graduating sophomores leave having rewritten the record books over the last two years. Thanks for the memories, guys and gals!

Nationals Preview

Three years ago, Illinois Central College was selected to host the 2009 NJCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships. In a short 6 days, that anticipated day will arrive when over 500 athletes toe the line at Newman Golf Course in Peoria. Race times are 10:00 for the women's 5k and 11:00 for the men's 8k.
Last year, the ICC women's team finished 11th and the men 20th in South Carolina. Going into this year's race, the men are ranked 17th and the women 8th.
For the men to achieve their goal of a top 10 finish, they will need strong up front running from JQ Smith and Shane Leiby, along with solid performances from Josh Battles, Nick Leiby, Cory Shoopman, Robert Deatherage, and Kyle Lueken. Shane and JQ have legitimate chances at coaches association All-American recognition, which goes to the top 25 American finishers.
Depth has been a strong asset of the women's team all season, with Brittany Carius, Michelle Carter, Kayla Christ, and Raven Pettry all hovering around the 20:00 mark for 5k. Last year, both Brittany and Alyssa Imig received All-American recognition, with Britt becoming the first ICC runner to receive NJCAA All American status by virtue of her 11th place finish. Olivia Coker and Bonni Martin are also running well, and few teams in the country can boast a top 7 as strong as ICC's. With season best performances from all 7, a top 5, or even top 3 team finish is not out of the question.
Both races should be exciting to watch on the spectator-friendly course. Don't miss it!

Women Win Regional Crown!

The ICC Women's Cross country team placed 7 runners in the top 11 places to easily win the Region 24 title Saturday at soggy Newman Golf Course. Rend Lake finished 1-3, but the Cougars placed 4 runners before Rend's number 3 and 7 before their number 5 to regain the title, last won in 2006. Brittany Carius finished second overall and had strong backing from Raven Pettry, Kayla Christ, Alyssa Imig, Michelle Carter, Olivia Coker, and Bonni Martin. Combined with Region 11, the Cougars finished second to a strong Iowa Central team and served notice that they should not be taken lightly at nationals in 2 weeks.

Facing some of the best teams in the country, the ICC men finished second in the region to top ranked Rend Lake. JQ Smith and Shane Leiby had top 10 finished to lead the Cougars, who also received strong performances from Robert Deatherage, Nick Leiby (who outkicked a Danville runner to secure the second team spot), Josh Battles, Cory Shoopman, and Kyle Lueken. Though Danville had the same point total as the Cougars, ICC had a stronger number 6 runner to secure the position.

It will be deja vu all over again in 2 weeks when ICC hosts the national meet at (hopefully) a dryer Newman Course. Race times on November 14 are 10:00 for the women and 11:00 for the men.

REGIONALS PREVIEW

It will be a super regional Saturday, October 31, in more ways than one when ICC hosts both Region 24 and Region 11 at Newman Golf Course in Peoria. Five of the top 25 ranked teams in the country, both men and women, will be featured in the race. Race times are 3:30 for the women and 4:15 for the men.

The men's field is likely to be led by top ranked and defending regional champ Rend Lake college. Also in the field though, are 7th ranked Iowa Central, 10th ranked Iowa Western, 13th ranked Northern Iowa Area CC, 15th ranked ICC, and 25th ranked Danville. ICC has been getting solid 1-2 finishes from sophomore Shane Leiby and frosh JQ Smith, but our chances to beat some of the Iowa schools lies in the ability of the 3 through 7 runners to step up. Frederick Kiprono, who was running number 3 earlier in the season, is out with an injury, so Josh Battles, Kyle Lueken, Nick Leiby, Cory Shoopman, and Robert Deatherage must make up the slack. Bobby Widick is now healthy and running well and may also be a factor for the Cougars.

The women's race should also be a barn burner. Fourth ranked Iowa Central, number 8 ICC, and defending regional champion Rend Lake, ranked 13th, look to be the odds-on favorites, but 17th ranked Iowa Western and 24th ranked Northern Iowa Area will make the team race interesting. ICC has been led all season by All-American Brittany Carius, who will likely make a run for the individual title against Julia Sambu, a Kenyan from Rend Lake. Britt is capably backed by the strong unit of fellow soph Alyssa Imig, and frosh Kayla Christ, Michelle Carter, and Raven Pettry. Olivia Coker and Bonni Martin, currently running in the 6th and 7th positions, will be important to the Cougar's team chances. Jenny Smiles has also been looking good and is expected to challenge for a top 7 spot. Depth has been a strong asset of the Cougars all season and will be important once again at the regional meet.

Fan's wishing to watch the meet should park at Sterling Middle School on Sterling Avenue. The starting line is about 400 meters east of Sterling on number 16 fairway.

Cougar Women Dominate Sauk Valley Invitational

The ICC women dominated the Sauk Valley Community College Invitational today, placing 7 in the top 8 and winning the meet with 20 points. Sauk placed second of the scoring teams with 57 points. Harper College and Joliet Junior College trailed with 67 and 96 points, respectively. Victoria Castaneda of Sauk was the individual winner with a time of 19:30 on the 3 mile course. Kayla Christ, Alyssa Imig, Brittany Carius, Michelle Carter, Raven Pettry, Bonni Martin, and Olivia Coker, all of ICC took the next 7 places.
The ICC men's team scored 47 points in placing 2nd to Waubonsee Community College's 25 points. Jaquaileon Smith led the Cougars with a 4th place finish. Shane Leiby, Cory Shoopman, Nick Leiby, and Josh Battles placed 6th, 10th, 13th, and 14th, respectively in the 66 runner field. Jared Klein of Waubonsee was the individual winner in 28:09.

The team now has a week off of competition in preparation for the Region 24 meet on Saturday, October 31 at Newman Golf Course in Peoria. The women will start at 3:30 pm, with the men to follow at 4:15.

Women's Results - Team
1 ICC 20
2 Sauk Valley 57
3 Harper College 67
4 Joliet Junior College 96

ICC Placings: (45 runners finished)
Winner: Victoria Casteneda (Sauk Valley) 19:30
2. Kayla Christ 20:10
3. Alyssa Imig 20:16
4. Brittany Carius 20:17
5. Michelle Carter 20:33
6. Raven Pettry 20:35
7. Bonni Martin 21:09
8. Olivia Coker 21:11
18. Jenny Smiles 22:27
21. Danie Fisher 22:40
25. Elizabeth Isbell 23:06
26. Rebekah Baer 23:18
31. Olivia Renken 25:00

Men's Results - Team
1. Waubonsee 25
2. ICC 47
3. Harper College 68
4. Sauk Valley Community College 117
5. College of Lake County 148
6. Carl Sandburg 175
7. Prairie State 176
8. Joliet Junior College 190

Individuals: (66 finishers)
1. Jared Klein (Waubonsee) 28:09
4. Jaquaileon Smith (ICC) 28:24
6. Shane Leiby 28:54
10. Cory Shoopman 29:17
13. Nick Leiby 29:28
14. Josh Battles 29:34
16. Robert Deatherage 29:40
21. Kyle Lueken 30:21
27. Bobby Widick 31:24
28. Matt McKinney 31:37
39. Brock Kingsland 33:04
48. Michael Robinson 35:03

Carius Record Leads Women to 2nd at Benedictine

Brittany Carius won a spirited duel with Lauren Hooks of North Central and set a course record in the process as the ICC women placed 5 in the top 20 and took second to NC in the Benedictine University Eagle Invitational. Despite running on a soggy course, her time of 23:07.6 set a course, school, and personal record. Kayla Christ, Alyssa Imig, Raven Pettry, and Michelle Carter provided excellent backup in placing 9th, 11th, 12th, and 20th respectively. The team score of 50 trailed North Central's 33, but edged Elmhurst College's 54 for second. The three teams dominated the individual and team scoring. Eleven complete teams scored.

The men's team also ran well to finish 6th in the 18 team field, second to Waubonsee in the community college competition. Shane Leiby again led the Cougars with a 10th place finish. JQ Smith also medalled in 18th place. Josh Battles, Nick Leiby, and Kyle Lueken completed the scoring.

The team next competes on Saturday, October 17 at the Sauk Valley Invite where the men have a chance of redemption against Waubonsee.

Cougars Come up "Short" at Augi Invite

Both the men's and women's cross country teams came up short in their quest to meet the challenge of the strong Iowa Central teams at the Brissman/Lundeen Cross Country Invitational hosted by Augustana College at Credit Island Park yesterday.

The men, running without an injured Frederick Kiprono, finished 14th of 26 teams overall and 3rd in the Junior College division behind Iowa Central and North Iowa Area CC. Shane Leiby was the top ICC finisher in 51st place with a time of 26:48, just 13 seconds over his PR. JQ Smith in 66th place and Josh Battles in 115th also were near their personal bests. Robert Deatherage moved into the 5th team position with his best showing of the year.

On the women's side, not only did the Cougars come up short in finishing second behind 4th ranked Iowa Central, but the race itself ended up 580 meters short when the lead vehicle took a wrong turn. Despite that, Brittany Carius became the first ICC runner to place in the top 25 in the meet with her 24th place finish. Running in 17th for most of the race, she was caught by surprise by the short race, and dropped back in the last 200 meters. The team finished 10th of the 21 teams - second in the JC division. Michelle Carter, Alyssa Imig, Kayla Christ, and Raven Pettry all finished within 10 places and 11 seconds of each other to complete the scoring.

The Cougars now face a well-deserved week off from competition before next competing in the Benedictine Eagle Invite in Lisle, IL on October 9, where both the men's and women's teams are defending Junior College division champions.

Illinois Intercollegiate Championships

Running in their biggest meet of the year, the ICC men's and women's cross country teams finished 9th and 10th, respectively, out of 24 non-division I teams at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships, held yesterday at the ISU golf course. The first 5 men were all at 28:00 or better, with soph Shane Leiby leading the pack with a 26:46. That placed him 18th in the college division field, 95th overall in the field of 334. Close on his heals was frosh JQ Smith (pictured) with a 26:59. Nick Leiby, Josh Battles, and Frederick Kiprono took the 44th through 46th places to complete the scoring quintet.

Brittany Carius ran her fastest time, 19:03, since last year's nationals to finish 13th among the 237 college team runners, 36th among all runners, including Division I. In 43rd place came Michelle Carter (pictured), who's 19:54 broke 20:00 for the first time and moved her into the top 10 ICC women times ever. Frosh Raven Pettry and Kayla Christ followed in the 58th and 66th places, while soph Bonni Martin rounded out the scoring in 94th place.

Both the women's and men's teams are highly ranked nationally - 5th for the women and 7th for the men. The next test will be Friday, September 25 at Credit Island, Davenport, Iowa, in the Augustana College invitational.

Teams and Individuals Excel at Bradley Open

Both the men's and women's teams showed their progress at the Bradley Open Friday at Detweiller park. The men finished 6th of the 12 non-division I teams while the women did even better: 3rd of 11.

The men were led by Shane Leiby, who's PR 26:35 now ranks 9th all-time at ICC. Pushing him to that fine time was frosh JQ Smith, who just missed the top 10 with his 26:47. Also registering big PR's were Nick Leiby (27:45), Josh Battles (27:36), Brock Kingsland (30:16), and Bobby Widick, making his ICC debut with a fine 29:11. In all, 10 Cougars registered sub-30:00 times.

The top women's finisher was once again Brittany Carius, who's 19:14 now ranks 5th all-time. Also breaking into the top 10 all-time was freshman Kayla Christ (pictured), with an excellent time of 20:08. Hot on her heels were two more frosh: Michelle Carter, with a time of 20:12, and Raven Pettry, who cashed in with 20:25. Olivia Renken showed great improvement over last week with her time of 24:23, which bested her race goal of sub 8:00 pace. Another big improvement was shown by Bonni Martin, who moved into the number 6 team slot this week.

Based on the teams' showings from last week, the men's team is ranked 9th in the NJCAA Division I poll while the women's team debuted at number 6. This week's race should not hurt those rankings at all.

Next Friday: Illinois Intercollegiates at the ISU golf course. This will be our first seasonal meeting with powerhouse Rend Lake, currently ranked 1st in the men's poll and 5th in the women's.

Brittany Carius Breaks School Record at WIU Open

Brittany Carius led a strong women's team to a 4th place finish in the 7 team Western IL University Early Bird Cross country Invitational on Friday, September 4. Her time of 23:39, in finishing 7th in the strong field, broke her time of last year by 15 seconds. The team scored 77 points with all 5 scorers in the top 23 positions.
Other scorers were Alyssa Imig in 14th, and the frosh trio of Michelle Carter, Kayla Christ, and Raven Pettry in the 18, 19, and 23 spots. With their times, Alyssa and Michelle also penetrate the top 10 of all time list for a 6k course. Kayla and Raven come close, with their times ranking 11th and 13th all time.
The men also finished in 4th place and were led by top returner Shane Leiby in 30th place. Close behind were freshman JQ Smith in 31st, and brother Nick Leiby, running his first race, in 32nd. Rounding out the top 5 were Frederick Kiprono in 44th and Robert Deatherage in 48th. It was a solid start to the season, with the top 5 all finishing between 27:54 and 29:05, and sixth position runner Cory Shoopman also finishing under 30 minutes in the 8k race.
Next race: Bradley Open at Detweiller Park. Men's 8k at 5:30, Women's 5k at 6:15 (Yes, team, I'm sure of it!)

Peoria Journal Star previews the season

Follow this link:

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/x2145969467/ICC-anticipating-an-historic-season

Frosh Raven Pettry is an important piece of the stellar freshman class.

Summer Racing Results

Besides at Steamboat, Cougar runners have been making their presence felt at other races this summer.

On June 13, Brittany Carius and Alyssa Imig took first and second, respectively in the Tremont Turkey Festival 5k. Britt ran 19:48 with Lys close behind in 20:07. Of the 313 finishers, they were 22nd and 26th overall.

June 27 saw races in two cities. Cory Shoopman, a native Metamoron, ran the 8 mile at the Old Settler's race and took fourth place - first in the 19-24 age group. His time was a fine 47:14.

Back to Tremont: Alyssa Imig (pictured) showed her fitness in three events by being the first female finisher in the Tremont Triathalon. Of the 163 finishers, she was 33rd overall. Her 5k time to finish off the win was 20:47, giving her a total time of 1:12:39, about a minute ahead of the next female.

Lys and Britt, along with recent graduate Michael Donini, made their own fireworks in races on the Fourth of July. At the Peoria Firecracker 5k, both Michael and Brittany took second in their respective races. Michael ran 16:46, and Britt finished in 19:47 - 32nd overall of the 506 finishers.

Alyssa took her talents to Hopedale to compete in the Hopedale Medical Complex 5k. Topping off a fine summer of racing, she clocked a PR 19:32 for the 5k race to win the female division in the race.

Congratulations to all!

Cougars in the Steamboat Classic

Cougars, Cougars to be, and Former Cougars abounded in the Steamboat Classic, and took home lots of hardware to boot.

In the men's 4-mile, Nick Leiby, Robert Deatherage, and Brock Kingsland competed, and recent grad Kevin Martin took home a plaque with his 25th place finish. Coach Herold proved that he is not yet dead by taking home an award in the geriatric division.

The women's 4-mile contained current runners Olivia Coker and Carrie Bunting, but it was former Cougar Marissa Menke who sprinted away from the coach in the last mile to finish in 34th place.

Cory Shoopman, Michael Donini, Shane Leiby, and Kyle Lueken all finished in the top 34 of the men's 15k, with Shoop leading the way in 15th place.

And in the women's 15k, Britt Carius led the Cougar charge with a top-10 finish. Close behind were Lys Imig in 13th and Raven Pettry in 30th. All received awards for their finishes.

Nice job Cougars!

Strawberries - The Runners Food!

The red color of strawberries comes from antioxidant compounds called anthocyanins, which are also found in other red and blue fruits. They help to reduce inflammation and counteract muscle damage from exercise. One cup of strawberries contains just 49 calories and nearly 150 percent of your daily value for vitamin C - more than an orange!
So if they are not now a part of your diet, consider keeping them on hand for post workout intake.

Carius, Imig, and Donini excel at Race for the Cure

Brittany Carius and Alyssa Imig took second and third, respectively, at the 2009 Race for the Cure in Peoria. Brittany's time of 19:34 was 42 seconds behind winner Angelina Anliker of Chicago. Alyssa was 24 seconds behind Britt with her 19:58.

In the men's division, Michael Donini placed third with a time of 17:13. Josh Bannister of Peoria was the winner with a time of 16:40. Nice Job Cougars!

Raven Pettry signs letter of intent

Raven Pettry, a four time state cross country qualifier from Henry, has signed a letter of intent to run for the Cougars this fall. She is the seventh runner to commit to the women's team this year, joining Olivia Renken , Kayla Christ, Rebekah Baer, Danie Fisher, Jenny Smiles, and Amelia Schultz. Add those to the six returning women and we will have the largest female roster in the eight year history of the

program. Not only is the roster high in numbers, but quality as well. Both Danie and Raven have been on the Journal Star honor roll list this year for the 3200 meters, while Kayla was top 20 at the state cross country meet last fall. Expectations are high for the coming season!

Tying a better shoelace knot

Here is a link to a video showing how to tie the Ian knot:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319--13002-0,00.html

If you have trouble following that link, go to http://www.runnersworld.com/shoelaces and follow the link in the article

Women's Team Earns Academic All-American Honors

The ICC Women's Cross Country team was listed by the Cross Country Coaches Association as having achieved the 7th highest team GPA in the nation for the semester ending December, 2008. The cumulative team average was a hefty 3.569. Individual honors were earned by Brittany Carius, Alyssa Imig, Elizabeth Isbell, and Darci Knapp Schmidgall. All had averages over 3.60.

The men's team just missed team honors with a cumulative GPA of 2.904, finishing 17th in the nation. Butler County Community College led the women with a near perfect 3.935 GPA, while Iowa Central Community College topped the men with 3.637.

Deena Kastor Quotes

Quotes from Deena Kastor, bronze medalist, marathon, 2004:

"I just love running. I love the invigoration of accomplishing goals every day. My goal of making the 2012 Olympic team is four years off, but each day that I'm out running I'm chiseling away at that goal. So there's a sense of daily gratification even before a long-term goal is reached."

"I love cross country. I love the ruggedness of it and battling the elements. It's just a gritty, tough way to run."

"I get as equally excited with good workouts as with good races."

"That for me kind of sums up what racing is all about; the preparation is what gives you all the tools and empowerment in the world. The race is a sweet reward for all the work you've done in the months leading up to it."

Cougars Earn Academic Honors

Five individuals and the entire women's team were honored for their academic prowess during the fall semester. The women's team achieved the best grade point average of any of the ICC athletic teams with a team composite of over 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. This also earned them Academic Team of the Year honors with the NJCAA. Team members are Brittany Carius, Alyssa Imig, Bonni Martin, Carrie Bunting, Olivia Coker, Elizabeth Isbell, and Darci Knapp.

The following also achieved individual honors:
President's List (Perfect 4.0):

• Brittany Carius
• Alyssa Imig

Dean's List (3.5-3.99):

• Elizabeth Isbell
• Darci Knapp

Athletic Director's List (3.25-3.499):

• Frederick Kiprono

"Excellence is not an act, but a habit" (Aristotle)

H.O.P.E.

Hope: How many times don’t we use this word? As in, “I hope I do well on this exam.” Or, “I hope I have a good race.” What we’re really saying is that we need some luck because our preparation had been less than adequate. If we are to successfully meet our goals, we need to think of Hope as an acronym for Heed, Obedience, Patience, and Energy:

H – We are willing to HEED the words of wisdom from those who have gone before us. We need to listen to our teachers, coaches, parents, and older siblings. They have experienced what we’re going through and can lead us to…
O – It produces OBEDIENCE because we have the confidence that the outcome will be good. Confidence comes with proper preparation. It’s not easy, though, so we have to have…
P – It gives us PATIENCE as we persevere through the temporary hardship. Training can be hard and cause temporary discomfort. Studying properly takes mental toughness, too. But with the goal in mind and proper preparation, we will have…
E – It gives us renewed ENERGY to keep working hard toward achieving that goal.

Goal setting is the process of H.O.P.E. Hope alone is like playing the lottery. Choose the former.

Running in the "Cold"

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING

70 above zero:
Floridians put on a sweatshirt for a run
Runners in Wisconsin get out by 6:00 am to avoid the heat.

60 above zero:
Californians get out the spandex
Runners in Wisconsin run bare chested or with a sports bra.

50 above zero:
Georgians don 2 thermal layers, gloves, and wool hats.
Runners in Wisconsin may put on a short sleeve T-shirt.

40 above zero:
North Carolina schools postpone cross country meets because of the cold.
Wisconsin runners put on a long-sleeve shirt and go for an extra 5 in the ideal conditions

20 above zero:
People in Miami get frost bite.
Wisconsinites finally get out the gloves; sweat pant optional.

Zero:
All runners except those in the upper Midwest forget about a run and switch to video games.
Runners in Wisconsin put on a hat.

10 below zero:
Wisconsin runners may wear a skin layer to go under the sweatshirt.

20 below zero:
Runners in Wisconsin say that the air is refreshing.

30 below zero:
Wisconsinites wait until noon to get out for their run.

40 below zero:
Wisconsin runners have trouble seeing through the frost buildup around their eyes.

50 below zero:
Cross country races in Wisconsin may be delayed 2 hours.

Kayla Christ signs to be a Cougar

Kayla Christ, a senior from Elmwood High School, has signed a national letter of intent to run with the ICC Cougars this fall.

Kayla led her team to a second place finish in the Class A state meet at Detweiller Park last November by finishing in 16th place with a time of 18:40 for 3 miles. Her place earned her All-State honors.

Since cross country started at ICC 2002, the team has never failed to have at least one Elmwood alum on the roster. She joins former teammate Elizabeth Isbell on what should be an exceptionally strong team this fall.

Welcome Kayla!