URBANA, Ill. – UIC opened its 2025 cross country season with a strong showing at the Fighting Illini Open, hosted by the University of Illinois. The Flames placed 5th out of 8 teams in the women's 4,000m and 3rd out of 7 teams in the men's 6,000m, highlighted by multiple school records and personal bests.
WOMEN
Emma Dubie led the way with a 22nd-place finish in 14:19.60, setting a new school record in the 4,000m. She was followed closely by Praise Oyebanji (25th, 14:26.30), Isabela Garcia (28th, 14:31.70), and Indigo Sterud (31st, 14:36.40)—each of whom also broke the previous school record of 14:44 held by Teresa Mejia.
Freshman Niki Tselios made her collegiate debut with a 44th-place finish in 15:10.70, breaking the previous freshman record of 15:18.0 set by Praise Oyebanji.
MEN
Daniel Chavez delivered a standout performance, finishing 3rd overall in 17:38.40, breaking his own school record from last season (18:08). Three other Flames finished in the top 20 with new personal bests:
COACH'S COMMENTS
"Today was a great opener for our program and the fastest our team has run to begin the season in school history," said head coach Paul Zavala. "I'm proud of all the effort our team has put in over the past few weeks and excited to see several school records get broken to start the season."
UP NEXT
The Flames return to action at the Huskie Classic on Friday, September 5 in DeKalb, Ill. The meet is scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m.
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information on UIC's cross country and track & field programs, visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_XCTF or @UICFlames) and Instagram (@UIC_XCTF or @uicflames).
