Nationals!

For the third year in a row, the ICC women finished as one of the top dozen teams in the nation by virtue of a 12th place finish at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Nationals held at Spartanburg, SC yesterday. They were led by Michelle Carter, who finished in 40th place with a PR 19:27, which moved her into the 4th position on the all-time women's list with the 8th fastest performance. Other scorers for the Cougars were Raven Pettry (20:10), Kayla Christ (20:35), Deidra Klaus (20:56), and Jordyn Hull (21:13). A gutsy Danie Fisher was the 6th finisher with 21:58, followed by Olivia Renken, who's 22:29 was a huge PR. The sophomore trio of Michelle, Raven, and Kayla retire as the 4th, 7th, and 8th fastest Cougars all-time.

The men didn't quite achieve their goal of finishing in the top 25, but came close with a 27th place finish in the strong field. Ryan Van Fossen led the way with a time of 27:15, good for 84th place. Sophomores Nick Leiby and David Lawson ran 28:14 and 28:26 respectively, while freshmen Trenton Hopper and Brett Curry followed with 28:37 and 28:43. To this coach's recollection, that is the first time we have had 5 guys under 29:00 in the national meet. Clayton Gale PR'd with 31:22 and Caleb Ulrich ran 34:35 as the 6th and 7th Cougar runners.

A great year ends with lots of good memories. This team will be missed.

Cougars Head to Nationals!

The ICC Cougar Cross Country teams head to nationals with high expectations for their best finishes ever. With eight of the 14 runners having recorded personal bests at Regionals, they appear to be reaching their peak at the right time.
The nationally 10th ranked women have been led this season by the sophomore trio of Raven Pettry, Michelle Carter, and Kayla Christ, but frosh Deidra Klaus has been improving rapidly and is starting to mix it up with the veterans. Not far behind are sophomore Danie Fisher and frosh Jordyn Hull, giving the Cougars a solid top six. If the team is to finish in the top ten, at least two will need to finish in the top 30, with the rest also scoring well. Based on recent workouts and meet finishes, this is very do-able.
The men are out to prove that those who rank teams were wrong in voting ICC out of the top 25. Despite a couple of runners being nicked up, the Cougars finished a strong second behind 21st ranked Danville at regionals. Freshman Ryan Van Fossen has been the number one runner all season and recorded the sixth fastest ICC time ever at the regional race. Given his recent improvement, he has a legitimate chance of breaking the 26 minute barrier and becoming the first men's All-American since Jeff Erickson back in 2004. Also improving at regionals was number two runner David Lawson, who finished in the top 10 by passing three runners in the last mile. Nick Leiby has been a solid force all season and will again come through at nationals. Though nursing injuries, Brett Curry and Trenton Hopper are running well in the 4th and 5th spots. Trenton had a huge PR with his 28:07 at regionals. Clayton Gale and Caleb Ulrich round out the 6th and 7th spots. Clayton is just now getting into shape after joining the team late. Caleb showed great promise early, but has been plagued by injuries for most of the season. He will be running for nationals experience.
The team leaves for Spartanburg, SC on Thursday, November 11 and will race on Saturday the 13th. Wish them well!

Women capture Regional title; Men second

For the fifth time in nine years, the ICC women have captured the Region 24 title, this year with a dominating performance. Led by Raven Pettry's PR 19:40 something (no times available at press time!) in second place, the ladies took 6 of the top 11 places to score 17 points and beat second place Lincoln by 37 points. Raven was backed up nicely by Michelle Carter in 3rd, Deidra Klaus in 5th, Kayla Christ in 6th, Danie Fisher in 9th, Jordyn Hull in 11th, and Olivia Renken in 17th place. The Cougar Ladies are currently ranked 11th in the country and have yet to be topped by a Junior College team.

The men had a tougher task, with both Danville and Rend Lake coming into the race ranked ahead of them. Halfway through the race, it looked like the form charts would hold, but the Cougars would not give up. The entire team moved up quickly and finished with a flurry to take 5 of the top 15 places and finish second with 55 points. Danville, behind their 1-2 finish, won with 44, while perennial defending champion Rend Lake finished third with 59. Cougar placers were Ryan Van Fossen in 4th, David Lawson in 9th, and Nick Leiby, Trenton Hopper, and Brett Curry in places 13 through 15, respectively.

Next up: Nationals. Hosted by Spartanburg Methodist College in Spartanburg, SC on Saturday, November 13.

Cougars Capture Men's and Women's Skyhawk Trophies

The ICC men's and women's cross country teams dominated the Skyhawk invitational at Sauk Valley Community College yesterday. The women captured 6 of the top 10 places to score 23 points and easily dominate the North Central College "B" team. Michelle Carter sprinted past defending champ Victoria Casteneda of Sauk with a mile to go and won going away with a fine time of 19:39.8 on the 3.04 (3.10?!) mile course. She was followed by Raven Pettry in 3rd, and Kayla Christ in 4th places. Jordyn Hull, Deidra Klaus, and Danie Fisher ran their best races of the year in finishing in places 8, 9, and 10 respectively.

Not to be denied, the men put together their best effort as a team so far to gain revenge on nationally 21st ranked Waubonsee. Placing 5 runners between slots 6 and 15, the Cougars tallied 47 points to dominate Waubonsee and College of DuPage, who tied for second with 78. Ryan VanFossen and Brett Curry finished just 4 seconds apart in places 6 and 7, and were followed closely by David Lawson and Nick Leiby in the 9th and 10th positions. Led by Ryan's 28:12, just 23 seconds separated the Cougar top 4. Trenton Hopper took the last t-shirt home with him by virtue of his negative-split 15th place finish.

Coach's Comment: "I love the way the teams met the challenges we presented to them. This was a great tune-up for the regional meet in two weeks."

Regionals will be held at Winter Park Sports Complex in Danville on Friday, October 29th. Race time is 4:30. The ICC women, nationally ranked 10th, are top ranked in Region 24. The 25th ranked men are second ranked in the region behind the host school, ranked 19th nationally.

Women's Team is Junior College champ of the Benedictine Invitational

The ICC women's cross country team repeated as junior college champs of the Benedictine Eagle Invitational yesterday. The close knit sophomore trio of Michelle Carter, Kayla Christ, and Raven Pettry finished in 12th, 16th, and 17th places, respectively. Jordyn Hull in 41st and Danie Fisher in 56th place completed the scoring. Danie more than adequately stepped up to fill in for the injured Deidra Klaus. The team finished 4th overall in the strong field.

The men's team also competed well, finishing 7th overall and a close 2nd to Waubonsee in the Junior College division. They were led by frosh Brett Curry in 42nd place. No doubt the fresh haircut assisted in his 27:57 time! David Lawson, Nick Leiby, Ryan Van Fossen, and Trenton Hopper completed the scoring.

Next up for the Cougars will be the Sauk Valley Invite on Saturday, October 16. We'll be aiming for you, Waubonsee! This will be the last tune-up before the Regional championship meet at Danville on October 29.

Cross Country Teams continue to run well

Both the men's and women's cross country teams finished first among junior colleges at the Augustana Brissman/Lundeen Invitational yesterday. Overall, the women were 15th of 24 teams and the men were 18th of 26.

No junior college team was close to the 10th ranked women, who were once again led by sophomore Raven Pettry. Her time of 24:05 makes her the second fastest ICC 6K runner ever with the 4th fastest time. Michelle Carter (pictured) also broke into the top 10 times - her 24:13 now standing in the 7th position. Six of the 7 lady Cougars recorded PR's with Kayla Christ missing hers by just a second.

The 18th ranked men got a challenge from Southwestern Community College, but prevailed as 5 of the 6 runners scored personal bests. Ryan VanFossen again led the charge with a strong 26:39, which now stands as the 10th fastest Cougar time (6th fastest individual.) Brett Curry (pictured), David Lawson, and Nick Leiby were all under 27:46, the first time a Cougar men's team has accomplished this in one race. Freshmen Trenton Hopper and Caleb Ulrich also scored PRs.

The Cougar Harriers now have 2 weeks to prepare for the Benedictine Invitational in Lisle on October 8.

Crazy!

Here's proof that you have to be a little crazy to be a distance runner!

Click on the image to enlarge.

Cougars excel at Illinois Intercollegiates

Freshman Ryan VanFossen and Sophomore Raven Pettry led the way for the ICC Cross Country teams at the Illinois Intercollegiate championship race in Normal yesterday. The men finished 13th of 27 non-university teams (2nd Junior College) while the women finished 10th of 25 non-university teams (1st Junior College.) Ryan's time of 27:06 in 104th place overall moved him into the 7th runner position all-time on the ICC list. Raven improved her best from last year with a 19:56, which was good enough for 90th place in the field of 330 (38th non-university runner.)

Raven was followed on the women's team by Michelle Carter, who ran 20:37, Kayla Christ (20:41), Jordyn Hull (21:26), Deidra Klaus (21:47), Danie Fisher (21:58), and Olivia Renken (23:57.) Following Ryan with a huge improvement in just his second race was freshman Brett Curry. His time of 27:34 now ranks him as the 16th Cougar runner all-time. Nick Leiby ran a solid 28:06, followed by David Lawson (28:25), Trenton Hopper (29:16), Caleb Ulrich (30:36), and Justin Torres (34:07.) The only men's junior college team to beat the Cougars was Danville, who will be the host of our regional on October 29th.

Next up for the teams is the Augustana Brissman-Lundeen Invitational on Friday, September 24 in Rock Island, IL.

Please note that the meet will be held at Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, not Credit Island.

Steamboat Results

Many current and former ICC Cross Country athletes ran in the Steamboat Classic in Peoria on Saturday, June 19, and had many trophies to show for it.

In the Men's 4-mile, Kevin Martin led the way with a 29th place finish. He was followed by Ryan VanFossen in 32nd, Shane Leiby in 37th, Robert Deatherage in 38th, Nick Leiby in 40th, and Trenton Hopper in 51st place.

In the Women's 4-mile, the only finisher I could find in the results was Marissa Menke in 49th place.

Several women did well in the 15K, however, led by Brittany Carius (pictured above) in 5th place. Alyssa Imig placed 17th and Raven Pettry 54th on the tough course.

Michael Donini (pictured above) matched Brit's 5th place finish in the men's 15K. He was followed by Cory Shoopman in 14th, Billy Miller in 46th, and Cody Roeder in 175th place.

Nice job Cougars and former Cougars!

P.S. If I missed any others, please let me know!

Women's Team is Academic National Champion

The ICC women's cross country team was the top NJCAA Academic Team in the country this year with the top 5 achieving a near perfect 3.954 gpa. They nosed out Colby Community College (Colby, KS) and Hutchinson Community College (Hutchinson, KS) which achieved gpa's of 3.866 and 3.855 respectively. Top 5 finishers for ICC were sophomores Brittany Carius, Alyssa Imig, and Jenny Smiles, along with freshmen Kayla Christ and Michelle Carter. Bonni Martin and Raven Pettry rounded out the top 7 for the academic team.

The awards for Academic All-American teams is given by the Cross Country Coaches Association and is determined by the semester grade point averages of team members who were declared for the regional or national championships. Proving that you can be great athletes as well as great students, the team finished 10th at nationals, the highest placing ever for an ICC women's cross country team in Division 1.

Cougar Pride!

Ryan Van Fossen joins the Cougar Pack

Ryan Van Fossen from Metamora High School has signed to run for the ICC Cougars in the 2010-11 seasons. Ryan has been a standout on the Redbird CC team for 4 years, but peaked this year with a 7th place finish in the Class 2A state meet. His time on the Detweiller course was a fine 15:24. In his junior year he also posted track times of 9:48, 4:38, and 2:02. Right now, his intended major is the most common one taken by ICC students - Undecided!

Ryan is the latest in a long line of fine runners that have come from the Gene Jones led program at Metamora and, like the others, will no doubt excel at the college level. We look forward to seeing him in a Cougar uniform.

4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0 - Women's team excels in the Classroom!

Four members of the ICC women's cross country team finished the fall semester with perfect 4.0 averages in the classroom. Pictured are freshmen Michelle Carter and Kayla Christ, and sophomores Brittany Carius and Alyssa Imig. In addition, Brit and Lys are on track to graduate this spring as distinguished Academic All-Americans. Also performing well in the classroom were sophomores Bonni Martin, Jenny Smiles, and Rebekah Baer, who are on the Dean's list (over 3.5), and soph Elizabeth Isbell and frosh Raven Pettry who exceeded the requirements for the Athletic Director's list (over 3.25). In all, 10 of the 13 team members had semester grade point averages over 3.1, and the entire team average of 3.408 was the highest ever attained by an ICC cross country team. Team and individual recognition will be given during the half times of the ICC basketball games on February 3. Not only are they focused on the athletic field, but in the classroom as well.

Congratulations Cougars!

Three Sign to Become Cougars

Jordyn Hull, Deidra Klaus, and Brett Curry recently signed to join the ICC Cross Country teams for the 2010 season.

Jordyn, from Mason City, has just two years running experience for Illini Central High School, but improved greatly during that span and this year qualified for the Elmwood sectional with a 13th place finish at regionals. Her best time thus far is 19:57. She is top 5 in her class and wants to become a veterinarian.

Deidra, from Eureka, has state meet experience in both cross country and track and boasts a cross country time of 18:26 and track times of 5:33 and 12:06. This year she finished 18th at the Elmwood sectional and 60th at state. Her major is undecided.

Brett, from Knoxville, had an outstanding senior year, winning his regional and finishing 5th in the tough Elmwood sectional with a time of 16:07. He has also run a 4:39 mile and a 10:10 3200. Brett's intended major is Criminal Justice.

Welcome Cougars!

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.