Illinois cross country teams place 26th and 28th at Pre-Nationals
Bugeja and Strickley lead the Illini; Big Ten Championships are next on Oct. 30
TERRE HAUTE - The Illinois women's cross country team placed 26th of 43 teams with 679 points at Pre-Nationals on Friday, and the men placed 28th of 44 with 704 points, according to the official results on the Fighting Illini schedule and the athletic department's recap. The meet closed the Illini regular season.
In the women's 6-kilometer race, Mireya Bugeja was the top Illinois finisher in 72nd place in 20:40.9. Kennady Anderson was 141st in 21:12.0 and Abbi Steiner 153rd in 21:14.5. BYU won the women's team title with 84 points, ahead of NC State with 88.
In the men's 8-kilometer race, William Strickley led Illinois in 96th place in 24:17.3, which the recap lists as a personal best. Frank Buchanan was 119th in 24:23.4 and Adam Patel 127th in 24:27.0. Syracuse won the men's team title with 115 points, followed by Villanova with 127.
Illinois runs next at the Big Ten Championships on Friday, Oct. 30, hosted by Wisconsin at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course, according to the recap.
Source: Fighting Illini Athletics recap, https://fightingillini.com/news/2026/10/16/mens-cross-country-illinois-cross-country-completes-regular-season-at-pre-nationals, and cross country schedule results, https://fightingillini.com/sports/cross-country/schedule