McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University cross country teams are set to participate in the Gil Dodds Invitational in Warrenville, Illinois, on Saturday, September 21. This event provides an early opportunity for the Titans to familiarize themselves with the course that will host the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship later this fall. Wheaton College is hosting the event at St. James Farm, with the women's race starting at 9 a.m., followed by the men's race at 9:45 a.m.

In recent rankings released by the United Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Midwest Region on September 17, the Titan women advanced one spot to seventh place. Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) is currently ranked as the top team in the CCIW, having started the season at number eight. IWU is one of two CCIW programs included in these rankings, alongside Wheaton College, which holds tenth place.

A total of 27 teams will compete in Saturday's races, including six conference rivals. The participating schools include Aurora, Beloit, Benedictine, Carthage, Carroll, Concordia Chicago, DePauw, Dominican, Elmhurst, IWU itself, Illinois Tech, Illinois Valley Community College (IVCC), Judson University (JU), Kishwaukee College (KC), Lake Forest College (LFC), Manchester University (MU), Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC), Morton College (MC), North Central College (NCC), North Park University (NPU), Oakton Community College (OCC), Rockford University (RU), Roosevelt University (Roosevelt U.), UW-Platteville and Wheaton College. Additionally, St. Mary's College from Indiana will join the women's competition while Wabash College competes in the men's division.

Earlier this season on September 13 at the ISU Redbird Invite, both Titan teams secured seventh-place finishes. Senior Annalese Chudy from Libertyville led IWU's performance with a 19th-place finish among Division III participants and earned her first CCIW Runner of the Week title for her efforts. Freshman Maddie Morgan finished second-best for IWU by placing 35th in her debut collegiate race. On the men's side, senior Nick Fisch took 25th place.

Four Titans achieved personal bests during their recent outing on Weibring Golf Course's challenging terrain: senior Emma McGrath from Oak Lawn; juniors Seth Hamerski from Mount Vernon and Abby Quinn from Chicago; and sophomore Aidan Nishimura from Arlington Heights.

Live results for Saturday's races will be available online and final results will be posted on iwusports.com after completion.