By Erin Hayes
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006, The OG, sports

Sophomore Malcolm Taylor sped past the competition to place 16th out of 222 runners in the varsity race of the Amboy Invitational on Monday. He ran the 2.9 mile course in 15 minutes, 43 seconds.

Taylor ran much faster than he did in last year's meet; he cut his time by 1:14. As a result, he moved up 71 places.

The talented underclassman has caught the eye of Illinois Prep Top Times, the online publication that ranks the state's top high school teams and individual runners. For the first time, Taylor is ranked among the top 20 runners in Class A. This week IPTT has listed him as No. 18 in the state.

Junior Austin Rundus finished 79th, running the course in 17:01.

Uni's varsity team placed 23rd of 29 scoring teams, with a total of 604 points. Elmwood/Brimfield won the meet, with 97 points.

Taylor and Rundus ran the race with three other Uni students (sophomores through seniors). All freshmen, including varsity runners Nathan Smith, Jack Snyder, and Andrew Weatherhead, competed in the separate Fresh-Soph race. Uni's Fresh-Soph team placed 13th of 14 teams.

The Uni students in the varsity race ran hard:

— Cheng Luo, sophomore, 19:27, 197th
— Carl Zielinski, junior, 20:12, 205th
— Marquis Wang, senior, 20:24, 209th

While Rundus' injury caused his time to be slower than last year's, he managed to improve his placing by two spots, moving up from 81st to 79th.

Taylor's continued improvement bodes well for his prospects at the upcoming regional meet Oct. 21 at Kickapoo State Park. He will advance to sectionals if he finishes among the top five runners who are not members of the five sectional-qualifying teams.

2006 VARSITY RESULTS
(Meets at the U of I Illini Meadows in bold; courses are three miles unless otherwise indicated)

Aug. 29: Kickapoo Kickoff Classic, 6th (points to be posted)
Top Uni runner: Austin Rundus, 3rd overall (17:30)

Sept. 2: Chrisman Cowchip Classic, 8th (50 pts)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 1st in No. 2 flight (17:11)

Sept. 5: Twin City Championship, 5th (87 pts)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 4th overall (17:41)

Sept. 9: Peoria Woodruff Invitational, 19th (points to be posted)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 23rd overall (16:44)

Sept. 12: Home Meet, 2nd (39 points)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 1st overall (17:29)

Sept. 16: Tuscola Invitational, 12th (279 pts)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 6th overall (16:39)

Sept. 19: Clinton Quad Meet, 4th (72 pts)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 3rd overall (17:32)

Sept. 23: St. Joseph-Ogden Spartan Classic, 19th (441 pts)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 15th overall (16:12, 2.95-mile course)

Oct. 7: Mahomet-Seymour Invitational, 10th (295 pts)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 9th overall (16:14)

Oct. 9: Amboy Invitational, 23rd (604 pts)
Top Uni runner: Malcolm Taylor, 16th overall (15:43, 2.9-mile course)