The Illinois Springfield cross country program has released its fall 2025 schedule, featuring four regular season meets in the Prairie Stars' 10th year of competition.

The regular season includes opportunities to preview postseason courses and line up against top NCAA Division II competition from the Midwest and beyond.

"This season is exciting not only because it's our 10th, but because of the opportunities it gives our teams to grow and test themselves early," said Head Coach Emmons King. "The competition is strong at every meet, and we'll get great looks at the championship courses before the postseason."

The 2025 campaign kicks off Friday, Sept. 5 with the 10th Annual Prairie Stars Invitational on the UIS Cross Country Course. The home meet has served as the season opener each year since the program began in 2015, except for the abbreviated 2020 season. That year's meets were limited to GLVC competition, though both regular season races were still held at UIS.

This year's event will feature a women's 5K at 5:30 p.m. and a men's 7K at 6:15 p.m. Additional alumni events are being planned as part of the program's anniversary weekend.

Two weeks later, UIS heads to Peoria, Ill. for the Bradley Intercollegiate at Detweiller Park on Friday, Sept. 19. This marks the program's first appearance at the meet, which is a longtime early-season fixture in Central Illinois. The men's 8K begins at 5:15 p.m., followed by the women's three-mile race at 6:00 p.m.

On Sept. 27, the Prairie Stars will compete in the Lucian Rosa Invite at Parkside's Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wis. The event marks the women's team's first competition at the 6K championship distance and an early look at the regional and national championship venue. Open races for both men and women will follow the morning's varsity races.

The regular season wraps up on Saturday, Oct. 11 with the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Ill. Hosted by GLVC opponent Lewis, the Crossover annually features one of the deepest DII fields in the country. Each team's top 12 runners will compete in the early races, with open races to follow.

Two weeks later, the same course will host the GLVC Championships on Oct. 25. Lewis is the defending team champion on both sides, it also had the men's and women's individual champions. Races start and finish just south of Lewis Stadium and loop around the southern edge of campus near the athletic facilities.

The Prairie Stars will return to Kenosha on Nov. 8 for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, where team and individual qualifiers will be determined for the NCAA Division II Championships. The National Championships will also take place at Parkside's course, giving UIS and other regional teams the advantage of familiarity on the nationally-renowned and challenging course set across Parkside's 700-acre wooded campus.

A Season Ago
The UIS women's cross country team opened the 2024 season with a win at the Prairie Stars Invitational and went on to place 4th out of 14 at the GLVC Championships, tying their best-ever finish from 2020. The Prairie Stars placed 13th of 27 at the regional championships in a field that included multiple nationally-ranked programs.

The men's team claimed the Prairie Stars Invitational title to start the season and went on to place 3rd out of 13 teams at the GLVC Championships, extending its streak of top-three finishes at every conference meet since 2018. UIS closed out the year with a 14th-place finish in a deep 32-team field at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

The program earned multiple postseason honors. On the women's side, Madelyn Miller and Kaleigh Inniss were named All-GLVC, the first pair of Prairie Stars to earn All-GLVC honors in the same season since 2020. Miller also earned All-Region honors by placing 22nd at the regional meet.

On the men's side, Isaac Cortes, Briar Nevills, Joey Karlesky, and Noah Tegeler all earned All-GLVC honors. Balin Doud, Matt Padilla, and Brock Loftus finished just outside all-conference range at the GLVC Championships, placing between 21st and 25th—part of a promising returning core that will push for postseason honors in 2025.

Follow Along
Stay tuned this summer for the official announcement of the program's incoming class as the Prairie Stars prepare to celebrate 10 seasons of UIS cross country.