Roberts Earns Second-Team All-B1G Honors, Leads Men to Highest Finish in Six Years

Full Results

MADISON, Wis. – The Illinois cross country teams competed at the Big Ten Championships on Friday. The men ran an 8k, and the women ran a 6k. The men placed fifth with 133 points, which is their highest finish since 2017, when they placed fourth (113). The women finished in eighth with 201 points, their highest finish since 2021, when they placed sixth (172).

Senior Jack Roberts finished ninth and collected second-team All-Big Ten honors with a time of 24:38.6. He became the highest men’s finisher since Jon Davis finished third in 2021 (24:44.0). He improved over 20 spots from his 32nd-place finish last year.

Sophomore Alex Partlow was the second Illini to cross the tape when he placed 15th (24:47.8). He improved 54 spots from his 69th-place finish last year. Junior Anthony Maida placed 29th (25:15.7), a 59-place improvement from a year ago (88th), the largest on the men’s team. Sophomore Brady Masters placed 42nd (25:31.3), a seven-place improvement, and senior Will Merrick rounded out the top-five Illini scorers in 45th (25:33.4).

Junior Sam Poglitsch was the first Illini woman to finish, placing 22nd (21:47.5) compared to 76th a year ago. Junior Halle Hill finished directly behind Poglitsch in 23rd (21:49.7), which is a 74-place improvement from 97th last year, the largest on either team. Freshman Avril Andre ran a personal-best 6k time (22:02.5) and placed 29th in her first Big Ten Championships. Junior Maggie Gamboa improved 40 places to 49th this year (22:26.5), and sophomore Lydia Malecek completed the top-five scoring Illini and placed 103rd (23:31.7).

MEN’S INDIVIDUAL FINISHES (8K):

9. Jack Roberts (24:38.6)

15. Alex Partlow (24:47.8)

29. Anthony Maida (25:15.7)

42. Brady Masters (25:31.3)

45. Will Merrick (25:33.4)

88. Nicolas Dovalovsky (26:38.2)

107. Kyle Clark (26:55.4)

111. Evan Cummins (27:08.0)

MEN’S TEAM RESULTS (POINTS):

1. Wisconsin (19)

2. Michigan (63)

3. Michigan State (86)

4. Purdue (115)

5. Illinois (133)

6. Penn State (166)

7. Ohio State (200)

8. Indiana (207)

9. Minnesota (246)

10. Iowa (258)

11. Rutgers (333)

12. Nebraska (351)

WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL FINISHES (6K):

22. Sam Poglitsch…