CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men’s and women’s cross country teams will host the Big Ten Championships on Friday (Nov. 1) at the Orange and Blue Golf Course in Savoy Illinois. The women’s 6k starts at 10:35 a.m., followed by the men’s 8k at 11:35 a.m. with the awards ceremony at 12:30 p.m. CT

For the first time, this year’s championships will feature 15 men’s teams and 18 women’s teams, including Big Ten newcomers Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

The Illinois men’s team had their best performance of the year at the Pre-Nationals in Madison Wisconsin, where they finished second out of 25 teams. Junior Alex Partlow continued to lead the way for the Orange and Blue in the 8 km with an 11th place (24:16.4).

The women’s team opened their season with a first-place finish at the Badger Classic in Madison Wisconsin and finished eighth out of 28 teams at the Pre-Nationals. Illinois was led by Senior this year Halle Hill and sophomores Avril Andre who have been top-2 finishers for the Illini in the past three meets. Hill’s second-place finish (20:11.5) at the Fighting Illini Big Ten Preview became the highest finish for any Illini during the regular season and was also her personal best of 4 miles.

Including Hill, a total of 10 Illini set personal bests during the Fighting Illini Big Ten preview, which was also hosted at the Orange and Blue Golf Course. In the men’s 8k it was seniors Tyler Cushing (24:05.5), and Anthony Maida (24:09.6), Partlow (23:51.1), juniors Brady Masters (24:02.0), Will Merrick (24:16.0), and Shawn Juliette (25:40.3). In the women’s 6 km it was Hill, junior Audrey Ginsberg (23:05.9), Andre (20:33.4) and sophomores Mabry Bruhn (21:55.4).

Fans can follow the action on BTN, follow live stats and more information can be found on the Big Ten Cross Country Championships page.