[Updated with photos and audio] Competing in what might have been the toughest sectional in Class 1A, the Illineks on Saturday qualified for the IHSA state finals for the second consecutive year. With 121 points, Uni finished third out of 20 teams at the Decatur St. Teresa sectional meet.

[Updated with photos] The Uni girls cross country season ended on Saturday with an 11th-place finish at the Class 1A Decatur St. Teresa sectional meet. The top Illinek finisher was senior Elizabeth Russell, who placed 45th. Overall, the team improved by 28 points and two places over last year's sectional.

[Updated with audio] Why wait any longer to write that novel you've had percolating in the back of your mind? Do it now! National Novel Writing month begins this weekend, and it offers the perfect excuse to take time out of your busy schedule to flex your literary muscles. The challenge: Write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. Check inside to meet four current Uni students who accomplished that feat last year.

With spacey vocals and ominous synthesizers throughout, Kid Cudi's debut album evokes feelings of a modern-day Pink Floyd, able to take listeners on a journey through sound and time. Very futuristic and very cool. This is hip-hop taken to the next level, and fans of both rap and indie rock will find much to like about it, according to Will Fernandez.

Katy Metcalf loves Halloween — it might be her favorite holiday. "Now that I'm older, though, trick-or-treating is out and masked bashes are in," writes the OG's resident music critic. "I'm not hosting one this year, but I do have some music advice for those of you who are. Some of these are poppy, some are slow, and some are downright creepy. Happy haunting."

Sindha Agha has made plenty of musical discoveries since school started, and once again she's ready to share what she's found. This mixtape isn't themed, but as soon as fall weather hit Champaign-Urbana, she found these 12 tracks to be good company as the dreaded cold moved in. Give them a listen, and let her know what you think!

Six years ago, the day before Katy Metcalf turned 10, singer-songwriter Elliott Smith died. "Elliott was my hero," she writes. "I wanted to be him when I grew up … not a rock star, but a something better. I can't even describe it, but his death had a profound effect on my life. Not that day, maybe not that year. But the more I've matured, the more I appreciate his music, and the more I miss him."

Though synthpop is on the rise, it's rare to find a band that mixes real musical talent with technological innovation. Not so with British duo La Roux. Their self-titled debut album dances from snarky to biting to lovelorn to icy and back again. "In short, I love this album," writes Katy Metcalf. "I absolutely adore it." Read on to find out why.

Without listening closely, it's all too easy to confuse Muse and Queen. On Muse's latest release, "The Resistance," the resemblance becomes more than reviewer Katy Metcalf can bear: "For a band with so much songwriting talent and originality as Muse, it's just hard to listen to such a blatant imitation. I don't want to buy a Muse album to listen to Queen. I have Queen albums for that."

The Illineks had a huge game Thursday night against the Champaign Central Maroons under the lights at the U of I Turf Fields. Both teams fought hard to try and win. In 2006, Uni upset the local balance of power by beating Central for the first time, 2-1. How would this year's Illinek team fare? Here are the details to this great game.

Generally, music critic Katy Metcalf would start a CD review with some witty and innovative twist on the album's title or a lyrical something or other. But after listening to Modest Mouse's new EP, only one reaction came to mind: She's floored. All in all, she writes, it's a fantastic album, with marvelous range and depth for such a short piece.

In mid-August, former Uni student and self-proclaimed “Manga Lord” Aaron Kelter donated his entire manga collection to the Uni library, which amounted to 241 books. The cataloging and shelving took several weeks, but the process is now complete. Check inside for more about the donation that has Uni manga fans rejoicing.

Not many Uni students can say that they were detained by Moroccan soldiers and police this summer — in fact, there's only one. Senior Loic Hostetter and his roommate were taken into custody after one of them took a snapshot of a stop sign near a military base. But all ended well, and Loic now looks back fondly on his five weeks in Morocco.

Owl City (aka Adam Young) breaks away from the generic in his exquisite new adventure in synthpop, "Ocean Eyes." Singing about everything from love to dental care, he's managed to create a beautiful, upbeat album with very few sticky spots, according to reviewer Katy Metcalf. Check inside to listen to the album yourself.

The Eels have done it again, with an outstanding new concept album on par with any recent alternative rock to date. Following the life of a young werewolf, "Hombre Lobo" displays an almost unimaginable depth and range of emotion layered over beautifully written melodies. Read on for the rest of Katy Metcalf's review.