Illinois sophomore Jason Bill's impressive win at the Missouri Cross Country Challenge in Columbia, Mo., propelled the Big Ten Conference's decision to name Bill the cross country male athlete of the week.

Bill was the frontrunner for the Illini during his inaugural season as well, individually qualifying for the NCAA cross country championships.

During Bill's first race of the young 2003 season on Saturday, the Buda, Ill., native defeated his nearest competitor by nearly 30 seconds with a time of 25 minutes, 1.99 seconds over the 8,000-meter course.

—by Amber Greviskes