Illinois Wesleyan 2008 Cross Country Stories

Also see other stories, previous seasons, etc. at Cross Country Archives

2008 Season Preview

January 2009
Freshman TJ Luby (Wheaton, Ill., North HS) and junior Kerry Devitt (Tower Lakes, Ill. (Carmel Catholic HS) have been chosen as the most valuable performers for the 2008 Illinois Wesleyan men’s and women’s cross country teams, respectively. Luby and sophomore Lorin Biosca (Wheeling, Ill., Buffalo Grove HS) were their team’s “Best Newcomers” while sophomore Liz Ave Maria (Morton Grove, Ill., Regina Dominican HS) was named as the women’s team “Hardest Worker.” Sophomore Joe Campbell (Coon Rapids, Minn., HS) and junior Adam Chambers (Niles, Ill., West HS) were selected as the men’s team “Hardest Worker” co-winners. Head coach Greg Huffaker, whose women’s team ascended for the first time to No. 35 in the national Division III rankings midseason, awarded letters to 10 men and 10 women and 18 of the 20 will return for next season.

November 15
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished ninth (of 43) and the men's team was 19th (of 39) at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional cross country meet, held on Saturday, Nov. 15 at Credit Island Park in Davenport, Iowa. The women had 304 points and were led by Kerry Devitt, who finished 28th with a time of 22:52.2. Emily Willenbring was 50th (23:18) and Amy Burns placed 66th (23:38.8). The men had 593 points and Paul Kwak was a team-best 95th with a time of 26:56.6. Adam Chambers was 112th (27:12.6) and TJ Luby placed 120th (27:17.4). Wisconsin-Eau Claire finished first in the women's meet with 108 points and Ayla Mitchell of Wis.-Oshkosh finished first in the 6K race with a time of 21:28.2. North Central won the men's meet with 51 points and Wheaton's Brandon Mull placed first on the 8K course with a time of 24:33.6

November 1
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished fourth and the men's team placed sixth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship meet, run on Saturday, Nov. 1 at the University of Wis.-Parkside (hosted by Carthage). The IWU women had 82 points and trailed Wheaton (41), North Central (73) and Carthage (75). Junior Kerry Devitt finished third with a time of 22:49 while senior Emily Willenbring placed 13th with a time of 23:24 and sophomore Liz Ave Maria was 17th with a time of 23:28. The men's team had 169 points as North Central was the chamion with 20 points. Freshman TJ Luby was the Titans' low finisher at 34th place with a time of 27:26 and Paul Kwak was 38th in a time of 27:38.

October 18
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished in 11th place (of 30) and the men's team was 24th (of 32) at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational, held on Saturday, Oct. 18, at Lake Breeze Golf Course in Winneconne, Wis. Freshman TJ Luby was the low finisher for the men, running the 8000 meters in a time of 26:28 for a 120th finish. Adam Chambers was 135th with a time of 26:41 and Paul Kwak finished 140th with a run of 26:45. Kerry Devitt's time of 22:52 was good for a team-best 41st place finish on the 6000 meter course. Emily Willenbring placed 52nd at 23:06 and Amy Burns was 59th with a time of 23:13. For the first time in school history, the Illinois Wesleyan women's cross country team has been ranked nationally. The Titans are No. 35 in the NCAA Division III fifth week poll announced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Oct. 15.

October 17
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished first and the men's team was second in the H.W. Wright Classic, hosted by Millikin on Friday, Oct. 17. The women had 18 points and were led by the first place finish of Kirsten Pufahl with a time of 13:11.25. Mary Kate Polzin placed a close second (13:11.30) and finishing third was Jenny Johnson (13:14.75). The men scored 39 points and were led by the fifth place finish of Alfred Brown, whose time was 29:25.7. Daniel Elwood came in seventh with a time of 29:36.65 and Mustafa Alavi's time of 29:44.95 was good for an eighth place finish. Another group of Titans will run at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 18 with men going out at 10:30 a.m. and the women at 11:15 a.m. For the first time in school history, the Illinois Wesleyan women's cross country team has been ranked nationally. The Titans are No. 35 in the NCAA Division III fifth week poll announced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on October 15. Wesleyan is the lone College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin representative in the top 35 poll with Wheaton coming in at No. 41.

October 16
For the first time in school history, the Illinois Wesleyan women's cross country team has been ranked nationally. The Titans are No. 35 in the NCAA Division III fifth week poll announced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on October 15. Wesleyan is the lone College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin representative in the top 35 poll with Wheaton coming in at No. 41. A group of IWU runners will compete this weekend at Millikin (on Oct. 17) while another group will run in the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 18 with men going out at 10:30 a.m. and the women at 11:15 a.m.

October 3
The Illinois Wesleyan women's cross country team finished first of eight at the Carthage Invitational, held on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Wisconsin-Parkside course in Somers, Wis. The Titan women amassed 45 points as junior Kerry Devitt placed third in the 6000 meter run with a time of 23:03. Emily Willenbring was seventh and Mackenzie Clemens was eighth to also finish in the top 10 for the women. The IWU men's team was fifth of 10 squads, compiling 150 points. T.J. Luby was the Titans' low finisher in 21st place on the 8000 meter course with his time of 27:16 while Adam Chambers was 29th in a time of 27:34.

September 19
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished eighth (of 25) and the men's team placed 13th (of 26) in the Illinois Intercollgiate Championships, run on Friday, Sept. 19 at Illinois State's Weibring Golf Course. The women finished second among Division III teams, behind only the University of Chicago. IWU collected 203 points led by the 22nd place finish of Kerry Devitt, who covered the 5K course in 19:15. Emily Willenbring was 35th (19:34) and Katelyn Draths was 41st (19:42). The Titan men, who placed fifth among Division III schools in the 8K event, were led by Paul Kwak in 65th place with a time of 27:09. T.J. Luby was 70th with a speed of 27:25 and Max Lustick was 82nd (28:00). The University of Illinois placed first in both the men's and women's races and North Central was the low Division III finisher at fourth in the men's run.

September 12
The Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished first (of 11) and the men's team was fourth (of 12) in the college division of the Bradley Open, run on September 12 at Peoria's Detweiler Park. The women had 36 points and had four finishers in the top 10, led by Kerry Devitt in third with a time of 19:31. Megan Gleason was sixth (20:03) followed by Emily Willenbring in seventh (20:08) and Amy Burns in ninth (20:12). The men's team collected 114 points and T.J. Luby was the low runner with a time of 27:45 for a 19th place finish. Paul Kwak was 20th with his time of 27:48. The women's winner was Kathryn Hague of Lewis (19:07) and the men's winner was Michael Spain of North Central (25:33). North Central was first in the men's race with 15 points and the top five finishers.

August 29
The Illinois Wesleyan men’s and women’s cross country teams both finished first (of four teams) in the IWU Fall Opener, run at Normal, Maxwell Park on Friday, August 29. The Titan women, running a two-mile course, were led by the second place finish of Katelyn Draths with a time of 12:17.96 as Illinois Wesleyan had eight athletes finish in the top 10 and amassed 20 points. MaryKate Beyer of Monmouth was the individual winner with a time of 12:07.67. The IWU men had 26 points as Wally Farris finished first in a time of 16:14.84 on the 5K men’s course. Five other Titans were in the top 10 including Tyler Saunders in fourth (16:34.93) and Paul Kwak in fifth (16:44.26).

July 1
The Illinois Wesleyan cross country season for both men’s and women's teams will launch at 5:30 p.m. on August 29 with the Titan Opener, held at Maxwell Park in west Normal. Last season the women’s team finished sixth (of seven) and the men's team was seventh (of eight) at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship meet. The women's top returner from the CCIW is senior Megan Gleason, who finished 27th with a time of 24:34.12, while the leading returner for the men from the conference meet is junior Adam Chambers, whose time of 28:58.32 got him in 43rd in the conference.