URBANA — The Illineks easily won their final home meet of the 2008 season Tuesday at the Illini Meadows course.

The girls claimed the top five team scoring spots to defeat Judah Christian 15-43.

Senior Elaine Gu, returning after she missed several meets because of a foot injury, led Uni with a second-place finish. She ran the three-mile course in 22 minutes, 24 seconds.

Junior Elizabeth Russell placed third (23:10), while junior Katherine Allen claimed the fifth spot (23:28). Senior Maddy Levin was right behind (sixth, 23:30), followed by junior Brittany Scheid (seventh, 24:34) and freshman Shruti Vaidya (12th, 25:34).

Runners from Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Bismarck-Henning, and Arthur also competed, but those schools didn't have enough athletes to earn team scores.

On the boys side, Uni runners claimed eight of the top 10 spots to win convincingly against three opponents, including last year's No. 4 team in Class 1A, PBL.

Senior Malcolm Taylor and junior Nathan Smith ran near-identical times (17:30 rounded off), but Taylor edged Smith for second place.

Two other Illineks broke the 18-minute barrier on the three-mile course: sophomores Albert Anastasio (fourth, 17:52) and Buck Walsh (fifth, 17:53).

Also finishing in the top 10 were senior Isaac Chambers (seventh, 18:31), junior Langston Allston-Yeagle (eighth, 18:44), junior Jack Snyder (ninth, 18:45), and senior Andrew Lovdahl (10th, 18:45).

Uni's 21 points put the Illineks well ahead of second-place PBL (54). The Panthers' top runner, Tom Pacey, led the field with a time of 16:58, but no other PBL runner finished under 19 minutes. Although the Panthers remain a solid team, they were clearly missing the three seniors from last year who propelled them to the elite ranks of 1A: Nick Brehm, Felix Cardoso, and Adam Carlson.

On the other hand, this year's Illineks appear to be the deepest Uni boys team since the 1996 squad that finished sixth at the Class A state finals. The 1997 team, which placed 15th at state, was the last Uni boys squad to make it to Peoria.

The 2008 edition is still ranked No. 9 in 1A by Dyestat Illinois, but a strong showing at Saturday's Tuscola Classic could change that for the better. Both the boys and girls teams will make the trip to Wimple Park, with the girls beginning their race at 10 a.m. Click here for directions.

Illini Meadows Home Meet at a Glance

Girls Team Results

1. UNI HIGH, 15
2. Judah Christian, 43
Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Bismarck-Henning, and Arthur competed but did not have enough runners for a team score.

Uni Girls Individual Results

2. Elaine Gu, 22:24
3. Elizabeth Russell, 23:10
5. Katherine Allen, 23:28
6. Maddy Levin, 23:30
7. Brittany Scheid, 24:34
12. Shruti Vaidya, 25:34

Boys Team Results

1. UNI HIGH, 21
2. Paxton-Buckley-Loda, 54
3. Bismarck-Henning, 81
4. Judah Christian, 93
Arthur competed but did not have enough runners for a team score.

Uni Boys Individual Results

2. Malcolm Taylor, 17:30
3. Nathan Smith, 17:30
4. Albert Anastasio, 17:52
5. Buck Walsh, 17:53
7. Isaac Chambers, 18:31
8. Langston Allston-Yeagle, 18:44
9. Jack Snyder, 18:45
10. Andrew Lovdahl, 18:45
12. Andrew Weatherhead, 19:13
14. Ziran Shang, 19:38
15. Kareem Sayegh, 19:53
17. Austin Black, 20:14
19. Iain Konigsberg, 20:19
21. Daniel Cheng, 20:22
23. Cheng Luo, 20:48
26. Tej Chajed, 21:01
27. Joseph Song, 21:06
30. Horace Wang, 21:12
32. John Vaughen, 21:17
33. Jack Feser, 21:19
39. Ben Suslick, 23:20
43. Rohit Palekar, 23:29
44. Juan Chapa, 23:30
— Eric Chen, 23:37
49. Luke Karmazin, 28:06