Savoy, Ill. – UIC opened its 2026 cross country season with a strong showing Friday evening at the Fighting Illini Invitational, hosted by the University of Illinois. The Flames placed fourth out of 5 teams in the women's 4,000m and second out of 5 teams in the men's 6,000m, highlighted by multiple school records and personal bests.

WOMEN
Senior Emma Dubie led the way with a 19th-place finish in 14:08.1 in the 4,000m, setting a new school record and breaking her best time from last season. She was followed closely by senior Praise Oyebanji who finished in 21^st place with a  personal-best time of 14:10.0, (UIC No. 2 All-Time). Junior Korima Gonzalez also achieved a personal-best time of 14:27.7, to finish in 26^th place (UIC No. 3 All-Time).

MEN
In the 6,000m, senior Alexander Das finished fourth overall with a new personal-best time of 17:57.7 (UIC #2 All-Time). Two other Flames finishing in the top 20 with new personal-bests, include senior Theodore Cunningham in fifth place at 17:58.3 (UIC No. 3 All-Time) and junior Zachary Close in 12^th place at 18:19.0 (UIC No. 5 All-Time).
 
Complete results may be viewed at ShaZam Racing.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"The warm temperature was a challenge for all the programs competing this afternoon, but our team competed hard and started off the season on the right direction," said Coach Paul Zavala. "I'm proud of all the effort our team has put in over the past few weeks and looking forward to another memorable season."
 
UP NEXT
The Flames return to action at the John McNichols Invitational on Saturday, September 19 in Terre Haute, Ind. The meet is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m.

FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow Flames Track & Field on (@UIC_XCTF and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_xctf and @uicflames).