At the 2009 Midwest Conference Championships the Prairie Fire Cross Country team took 8th on the men's side and 10th on the women's side.

The men moved up two spots from last year and scored 25 fewer points. Coach Irwin said he was "real happy with how they did. Our expectation going in was no worse than eighth. Due to illness and injuries were did not have a full squad but the guys we had stepped up and for as muddy and sloppy the course was they did very well. Freshman Jesse Sindler (Canon City, CO - Canon City Senior High) had his best time by 36 seconds, and if he can do that in poor conditions, it excites me to see what he could do on a fast course. We are right where we need to be. Overall I was really happy with how they did as a team and as individuals." Recording the top time for the Prairie Fire was senior Ryan Maniscalco (Winnetka, IL - New Trier) who completed the 8K race in 28:59.93. Just behind him was sophomore Kevin Box with a time of 29:10.58. Last year at the MWC Championships the top runner for the Prairie Fire finished 47th. This year, they had two in the top 40 with Maniscalco at 31 and Box at 35 and another at 54 in freshman Sean Choate from Chicago, IL (Chicago Academy).

Men's 8K Results:
Ryan Maniscalco - 28:59.93
Kevin Box - 29:10.58
Sean Choate - 29:53.13
Dave Brankin - 32:26.98
Chris Bugajski - 33:26.01
Jesse Sindler - 33:58.39
Tom Thorsett - 34:18.21
Jordan Reifsteck - 47:09.14

When asked about his women's team coach Irwin explained how he "was not disappointed with how we did even though the results say 10th. We had several girls who ran very well and several who gave a very good effort after returning from injuries. Their effort and energy level was there, we just had a couple bad breaks that ended up hurting us in the standings. We were finally close to full strength with nine runners. One of our freshman, Emelye Weimer (Lisle, IL - Naperville North) ran in her first race after battling back from injury. It was good to have her back just in time for conference." The top Prairie Fire runner on the women's side was once again junior Tanya Novotnak (Madison, WI - West) who completed the race in 27:06.94, putting her 43rd overall. Also running well was senior Mary Purrazzo (Alsip, IL - Alan B. Shepard) who competed in her last conference completion.

Women's 6K Results:
Tanya Novotnak - 27:06.94
Zoey Kudla - 30:20.03
Laura Mills - 31:08.69
Anna Novikova - 32:11.73
Mary Purrazzo - 32:14.07
Emelye Weimer - 32:47.92
Sara Koehnke - 32:48.45
Brenna DeGan - 32:55.89
Katie Goodin - 35:01.24

The Prairie Fire will be training for the next two weeks for the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet which will be November 14th in Oshkosh, WI. It is set to being at 11 a.m. Coach Irwin commented saying "Looking ahead to the regional meet, we will travel the top six runners on each side. If the conditions are favorable and the weather stays dry we have a chance to improve a lot of our times as the course is very fast. It could be a great opportunity for the ladies to finish their season on a higher note and for the guys it could be a great opportunity to combine the strong running and the consistency they have had all season into a top notch race. I am hoping for dry weather so both teams get that opportunity."

Illinois College Invitational - October 17, 2009
The Prairie Fire cross country team traveled to Jacksonville, IL for the Illinois College Invitational on October 17. Coach Irwin was "very happy overall with how we did. I have been this whole season, they have done very well. By finishing so close to IC, it shows that when we go to conference in two weeks it will come down to who is ultimately the most motivated and ready to compete and I am pretty confident that that is us".

On the women's side there were five season best times. Most impressively was Tanya Novotnak (Madison, WI - West) who improved her season best time by 32 seconds, a best that was set just one week ago. She also improved her career best by 7 seconds. She completed the 6K in 25:34.57. "The women are really starting to run well at the right time of year. After a couple weeks of training and putting everything together they will be really ready for conference. I am excited to see how they finish out."

Women's times for 6K:
Tanya Novotnak 25:34.57
Anna Novikova 27:48.20
Zoey Kudla 27:59.76
Laura Mills 30:08.80
Sara Koehnke 30:16.13
Mary Purrazzo 30:56.02

On the men's side, Kevin Box (Naperville, IL - Naperville North) and Ryan Maniscalco (Winnetka, IL - New Trier) again led the team. With about 800 meters left in the race, they were at 11 and 12 and running side by side pushed each other up to a 8th and 10th place finish. Box completed the race in 27:25.70 while Maniscalco finished just five seconds behind in 27:30.68. Jesse Sindler (Canon City, CO - Canon City Senior High) and Avi Segaloff (Ann Arbor, MI - Huron) both ran season best times for the Prairie Fire. Sindler finished in 34:34.27 while Segaloff finished in 30:57.93. "I am excited for conference for the men. As long as they prepare and continue to stay confident and believe, we have a good shot at finishing at least 8th at conference which would be a jump in standings from last year" said Coach Irwin.

Men's times for 8K:
Kevin Box 27:25.70
Ryan Maniscalco 27:30.68
Sean Choate 28:55.38
Avi Segaloff 30:57:93
Dave Brankin 31:21.83
Tom Thorsett 32:55.27
Chris Bugajski 32:59.08
Jesse Sindler 34:34.27
Jordan Reifsteck 40:31.90

The Prairie Fire will be training for the next two weeks until the travel to Beloit, WI on October 31st. On conference Coach Irwin said "I feel real confident with both teams, and I expect good things to continue to come our way but we must stay on it to finish off the great season. If Tanya, Kevin, and Ryan run well at conference they all have a chance at making it into the top 20. There were a lot of fast times this weekend, but with the way they have been running I think they have a shot at an all conference finish."

Benedictine Eagle Invitational- October 9, 2009
At the Benedictine Eagle Invitational the men placed 9/18 while the women placed 11/11. More significantly however was the fact that all seven of the women had season or career bests and according to head coach Patrick Irwin "I thought the ladies ran much better than the results actually indicated. To see them all run well despite the muddy, sloppy conditions was certainly a good sight to see". The top runner for the women was Tanya Novotnak (Madison, WI - West) as she completed the 6K race in 26:16.85, taking 48/141 runners. Novotnak is currently ranked 27th in the Midwest Conference in the 6K and Coach Irwin has high hopes for her saying "If she gets the right conditions and opportunity she has a legitimate shot at all conference honors this year". To be an all conference performer one must place in the top 20.

Women's times were as follows in the 6K:
Tanya Novotnak 26:16.85
Zoey Kudla 28:14.31
Anna Novikova 28:34.09
Laura Mills 29:20.18
Sara Koehnke 31:09.03
Mary Purrazzo 31:09.75
Katie Goodwin 33:13.23

On the men's side Ryan Maniscalco again led the team as he placed 31/176 runners in the 8K with a time of 28:03.85. The men feel just behind conference opponent Beloit College but "I was really happy to see them compete well, and come out in front of Lake Forest once again. Having Ryan run well and lead the way definitely helped us finished so in the top half of the teams" said Coach Irwin.

Men's times were as follows in the 8K:
Ryan Maniscalco 28:03.85
Kevin Box 28:26.96
Sean Choate 29:43.68
Avi Segaloff 31:43.60
Dave Brankin 32:19.22
Chris Bugajski 32:25.57
Tom Thorsett 32:51.30
Jesse Sindler 34:58.73
Jordan Reifsteck 41:45.98

Looking to this coming Saturday, October 17, the cross country team will travel to the Illinois College Invitational in Jacksonville, IL. Coach Irwin expects his team to do well for "On the Ladies side, we are set for a great meet this weekend given how well they ran last weekend in the very poor conditions. I expect them to do even better. On the men's side, I hope that their front half finish at Benedictine serves as confidence - that they know that they are a good team and that week in and week out they will continue to have success as long as they work hard."


Forester Invitational - September 26, 2009
The Prairie Fire cross country team competed at the Forester Invitational in Lake Forest, IL on September 26. The Prairie Fire team built on their strong showing from last week at Illinois State as the men defeated conference opponents Lake Forest College and Illinois College and the women defeated Illinois College. Coach Irwin was very proud of the team saying; "IC beat us a week ago so to have the team run well and clip both schools was great to see. We knew going into the race that it was going to be a fast course and I was very happy to see them take advantage of it."

The team certainly took advantage of the fast course as all runners had season or career best times. On the women's side for the first time this season junior Tanya Novotnak (Madison, WI - West) and sophomore Brenna DeGan (Naperville, IL - Naperville North) were able to compete for the Prairie Fire. Novotnak had the top time for the Prairie Fire as completed the 5K in 20:56 for a 32nd place finish. It was a career best for her as it was her first time finishing under 21 minutes. Also with a career best was senior Mary Purrazzo (Alsip, IL - Alan B. Shepard) who ran a 24:55, the first time she has ran under 25 minutes for a 5K in cross country.

On the men's side, sophomore Kevin Box (Naperville, IL - Naperville North) led the team as he took 11th out of 118 runners. He completed the 8K in just 27:19. Senior Ryan Maniscalco (Winnetka, IL - New Trier) came in second for the Prairie Fire as he completed the race in 27:36, taking 20th overall. Box and Maniscalco were the difference makers for the men's team, allowing them to pull out team finishes ahead of Lake Forest and IC.

Looking towards their next meet, the Prairie Fire will travel to Lisle, IL for the Benedictine Eagle Invitational on October 9. "Last year, we finished much better at Benedictine than we did at Lake Forest. Their course is not as fast but all the same, we are looking for that upward trend to continue as our times continue to come down" said Coach Irwin. The women are set to run at 3:30 p.m. with the men beginning at 4:15 p.m.

Illinois Intercollegiate Championships - September 18, 2009
The Prairie Fire cross country team traveled to Illinois State to compete at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships. Of the thirteen runners who competed for the Prairie Fire, eleven of them had season best times. Coming off two weeks of training Coach Irwin was very proud of his team saying "I thought they looked pretty sharp and took advantage of the strong competition they were presented with."

On the men's side, sophomores Kevin Box (Naperville, IL - Naperville North) and Dave Brankin (Chicago, IL - Saint Ignatius College Prep) recorded career best times in the 8K. Box completed the race in 28:46 while Brankin finished in 31:24 which was almost three minutes faster than he ran two weeks ago. Junior Avi Segaloff (Ann Arbor, MI - Huron) dropped over two minutes off his time while junior Chris Bugajski (Chicago, IL - Walter Payton) took almost two minutes off his time. Freshman Tom Thorsett (Eden Prairie, MN -Eden Prairie) dropped just over a minute.

On the women's side, it was more difficult to make comparisons as the Illinois State course was only a 5K verses the standard 6K. All of the women had faster race paces, but most outstanding was freshman Anna Novikova (Palatine, IL - Palatine) whose race pace was 50 seconds faster per mile than two weeks ago.

The Prairie Fire will travel to Lake Forest to compete in the Forester Invitational on Saturday, September 26th, 2009 with a start time of 11 a.m.

Western Illinois Earlybird Invitatoinal - September 4, 2009
The Prairie Fire Cross Country team had a difficult first meet as the men came in sixth and the women took seventh at the Western Illinois Earlybird Invitational.

On the men's side the top runner was sophomore Kevin Box (Naperville, IL - Naperville North) who finished in 28:53. Senior Ryan Maniscalco (Winnetka, IL - New Trier) finished in 29:07 and close behind him was first year Sean Choate (Chicago, IL - Chicago Academy) who ran a 29:28 in his first collegiate race. On the women's side the top runner for the Prairie Fire were first years Zoey Kudla (Ypsilanti, MI - Greenhills) and Anna Novikova (Palatine, IL - Palatine) who came out strong in their first collegiate race. Kudla completed the race in 29:10 while Novikova finished in 29:33.

The Prairie Fire cross country team will travel to Bloomington, IL on September 18 for the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships.