The UI men´s cross-country team opened its season with a second-place finish at the Meet of Champions on Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind.

Three Illini finished among the top 10 individuals at the six-team, 8,000-meter event, including second-place finisher John Kronfest, whose time of 25 minutes, 10.7 seconds was a career best.

Illinois sophomore Amber Hunt was named the Big Ten Women's Cross-Country Athlete of the Week on Tuesday.

Jason West (1991-92) and 1975 NCAA champion Craig Virgin finished 1-2 in the annual men's alumni cross-country race Saturday at the UI South Farms.

SAVOY – Whatever shortcomings his Illinois men's cross-country team might have, Gary Wieneke knows resiliency is not one of them.

For the second year in a row, the Illini bounced back from an eighth-place disappointment at the Big Ten meet to run with the leaders Saturday in the NCAA Midwest Regional.

   CHAMPAIGN  Either there was a bad phone connection or Sarah McClennan was having some fun at her younger brother''s expense.

   Did Scott McClennan really hear that Miruts Yifter, a two-time Olympic champion from Ethiopia, was coaching Sarah and other members of her triathlon club in Canada?

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – No Illinois runner had raced on Penn State's hilly cross-country course before Saturday's Big Ten meet.

It showed.

SAVOY – Well-traveled Ryan Eason looks to be on the move with his cross-country career as well.

The Illinois junior, who never before had finished higher than fourth on his team, trailed just one teammate Saturday while placing fifth overall in the Illinois Invitational. Eason ran his fastest 8-kilometer race as an Illini (25 minutes, 11.07 seconds), lopping a whopping 48 seconds off his previous best.

CHAMPAIGN – Sammy Williams would appreciate it if you called her daughter by her given first name.

"My mom likes it when people call me Cecelia, and I like it, too," the Illinois freshman said.