PEORIA — With No. 1 runner Malcolm Taylor back in action after missing the last two meets because of a respiratory illness, the Uni boys took another step in establishing themselves as an elite program by placing fourth at the 34-team Woodruff Class 1A Invitational on Saturday.

The Woodruff Invite is a highly competitive meet that takes place at the IHSA state finals course. Despite the rainy and muddy conditions, the Illineks came through and improved on their eighth-place finish from last year.

Taylor led the Illineks with a 16th-place finish out of a field of 225 runners. The senior covered the three-mile course in 17 minutes, 4 seconds. Taylor didn't run at the Woodruff meet last year.

Closely behind him were junior Nathan Smith and sophomore Buck Walsh, who finished 31st and 35th, respectively. Smith ran 17:32 — 19 seconds faster than last year, when he led Uni with a 43rd-place performance. Walsh ran 17:36, cutting 33 seconds off his 54th-place time from 2007.

Sophomore Albert Anastasio (49th, 18:05) and senior Isaac Chambers (62nd, 18:24) completed the scoring for the Illineks, whose final tally of 193 put them just six points behind third-place Stanford Olympia. Winnebago (124) and Elmwood/Brimfield (125) were far ahead in the top two spots.

Uni's other varsity runners were junior Langston Allston-Yeagle (78th, 18:42) and senior Andrew Lovdahl (94th, 18:57).

Among the teams Uni beat was Beecher (seventh, 214), which Dyestat Illinois had ranked fifth in 1A heading into the Woodruff meet. Uni was ranked ninth, but that is sure to change the next time the rankings come out.

On the girls side, the Illineks finished in 18th place (469 points) out of 25 scoring teams. No. 2 runner senior Elaine Gu did not run, due to an ACT test.

With only five runners competing, the Illineks had just enough athletes to qualify for a team score.

Junior Elizabeth Russell led Uni with a 30th-place finish (21:01) out of a field of 193 runners. Following Russell were junior Katherine Allen (102nd, 23:43), senior Maddy Levin (118th, 24:09), junior Brittany Scheid (133rd, 24:37), and freshman Shruti Vaidya (151st, 25:17).

Winnebago won the meet with 58 points. Last year Uni finished fourth (126).

Both the boys and girls teams will compete Tuesday on their home course at Illini Meadows, where their scheduled opponents will be Judah Christian, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, and Bismarck-Henning.

Peoria Woodruff Invitational at a Glance

Boys Team Results

1. Winnebago, 124
2. Elmwood/Brimfield, 125
3. Stanford Olympia, 187
4. UNI HIGH, 193
5. Bloomington Central Catholic, 202
6. Tremont, 203
7. Beecher, 214
8. Canton, 234
9. Rockford Christian, 297
10. Eureka, 298
11. Byron, 307
12. Oregon, 388
13. Monticello, 388
14. Teutopolis, 401
15. Knoxville, 406
16. Henry-Midland, 407
17. Monmouth-Roseville, 473
19. Olney, 531
20. Lebanon, 539
21. Rockford Lutheran, 559
22. Durand, 573
23. Delavan, 585
24. IVC, 610
25. Columbia, 619
26. Farmington, 639
27. Alwood/ROWVA, 706
28. East Alton-Wood River, 738
29. Seneca, 763
30. Lewiston, 765
31. Plano, 791
32. Clinton, 963
33. Macomb, 1004
34. Manual, 1006

Uni Boys Individual Results

16. Malcolm Taylor, 17:04
31. Nathan Smith, 17:32
35. Buck Walsh, 17:36
49. Albert Anastasio, 18:05
62. Isaac Chambers, 18:24
78. Langston Allston-Yeagle, 18:42
94. Andrew Lovdahl, 18:57

Girls Team Results

1. Winnebago, 58
2. Rockford Lutheran, 81
3. Bloomington Central Catholic, 86
4. Elmwood/Brimfield, 103
5. Eureka, 214
6. Tremont, 236
7. Beecher, 239
8. Columbia, 253
9. Durand, 269
10. Byron, 284
11. Monmouth-Roseville, 297
12. Stanford Olympia, 301
13. Oregon, 317
14. Olney, 379
15. Stockton, 389
16. Monticello, 390
17. Teutopolis, 400
18. UNI HIGH, 469
19. IVC, 516
20. Latin, 546
21. Henry-Midland, 627
22. Clinton, 628
23. Rockford-Christian, 638
24. Seneca, 644
25. Alwood/ROWVA, 667

Uni Girls Individual Results

30. Elizabeth Russell, 21:01
102. Katherine Allen, 23:43
118. Maddy Levin, 24:09
133. Brittany Scheid, 24:37
151. Shruti Vaidya, 25:17