CHAMPAIGN – Sammy Williams would appreciate it if you called her daughter by her given first name.

"My mom likes it when people call me Cecelia, and I like it, too," the Illinois freshman said.

Sadly, it's obvious Sammy and Cecelia are fighting a losing battle. Why, even Cecelia's dad, James, addresses the Williamses' only daughter in verbal shorthand.

"Everyone always calls me Celi," Cecelia Williams said with a tone of mock exasperation. "I guess it's just easier to say Celi."

Illini cross-country coach Michelle Byrne will call Williams anything she wants if the Elmhurst native continues to run like she did last weekend. Ditto for Amber Hunt and Lyndsey Dunnavan. In their first collegiate race, the three freshmen were among the UI's top four finishers in the Missouri/Evian Challenge at Columbia, Mo.

If Byrne has the trio pegged right, that was just the start of something special.

"These three made an impact really, really quickly," the third-year Illini coach said. "In my mind, this was a building block for only better things to come. These kids are kind of a cornerstone."

They also represent the recruiting breakthrough Byrne has worked toward since she joined UI track coach Gary Winckler's staff in 1997. For the first time, Byrne is attracting some of the state's top distance and middle-distance recruits.

"It has gone 180 (degrees)," Byrne said of the reception she now receives from Illinois' best distance runners. "There is no two ways about that. I feel very comfortable about where I'm at at this time within the state."

When Byrne arrived at the UI, she was made aware of the need to rebuild recruiting bridges. Specifically, a perception had developed within the state that distance runners were almost an afterthought in the Illini program.

It was a perception born in 1985, when Winckler arrived from Florida State to find a Big Ten Conference heavy on middle-distance and distance talent. Winckler determined the quickest way to make an impact was to emphasize what the conference did not: sprints and hurdles.

The approach proved wildly successful, the UI producing nine Big Ten indoor and outdoor track titles from 1988 to '96 and 188 Big Ten champions through last spring.

And once Winckler got his program rolling, he began addressing other areas in recruiting, too. Since then, the Illini have produced middle-distance and distance All-Americans in Candace Nicholson, Tama Tochihara, Hope Sanders and Laura Simmering.

"If you go back into the (record) books, the distance and middle distances has always done well conferencewise and on the national level," Byrne said, "just in smaller numbers (compared to the sprints and hurdles)."

But perceptions within the state died hard. None of those four All-Americans were Illinois natives.

Finally, though, Byrne said she's starting to convince the state's prep coaches and top distance prospects that the UI is far more than a sprint-hurdle school.

"That was something I really worked hard on these last two years: to get the high school coaches aware that that's not our mentality," she said. "It's not how we recruit. We want the best kids period, irrespective of the event area.

"I feel a much warmer reception talking to them about Illinois and opportunities for their kids here."

Until Byrne could make some breakthroughs, she was reluctant to expend scholarship aid on the state's leftovers. This year, Byrne considered it money well-spent when Williams, Naperville Central's Hunt and Rockford Guilford's Dunnavan accepted scholarship offers.

"It's the first time I've put money into our recruiting area," the Illini distance coach said.

Each fits Byrne's across-the-board criteria for scholarship aid. Because the NCAA has no provisions for cross-country scholarships, aid in that sport is necessarily tied into the track program's allotment of 18. For that reason, Byrne and most other coaches in her position want no specialists.

"I want to have a cross-country program where the best kids in that program also are our best track indoor-outdoor middle-distance (and) distance group," Byrne said. "They have to be able to run all three seasons."

Signing Williams was a particular coup for Byrne. The Illini coach went head-to-head against national powers Wisconsin (fifth in the '98 NCAA cross-country meet), Colorado (seventh) and Michigan (11th) for the Elmhurst York graduate.

"They have a huge tradition in distance running," Williams said of those three schools.

So, why Illinois? In a word: Byrne.

"Even the Michigan coach said, 'If you go to Illinois, even though they don't have the tradition, Michelle will make you a great runner,' " Williams said. "Individually, with Michelle as my coach, I can't lose, and teamwise, all we have to go is up."

Williams' credentials mark her as a runner on the rise. In the Class AA state track meet last spring, she was runner-up in the 1,600 meters and anchored York's winning 3,200 relay. A four-time state qualifier in cross-country, Williams placed 15th as a senior.

Hunt was a significant catch, too, having placed fourth in the Class AA 3,200 after posting the top qualifying time. Dunnavan finished 70th in the state cross-country meet and was a state qualifier in the 800 and 1,600.

"Celi and Amber probably are more seasoned," Byrne said. "Lyndsey is probably more of a diamond in the rough, so her maturation may be a little slower. But I really think in time she can contribute, and I saw glimpses of that at Missouri."

Part of Byrne's sales pitch to the trio was that its combined talents could take Illinois cross-country places it needs to go. Since 1986, the Illini have finished sixth or lower in the Big Ten meet every year but one.

The Missouri performance was an encouraging start. In the absence of top UI returnee Tara Mendozza, who was withheld from the hilly course for precautionary reasons, Williams was Illinois' top placer and eighth overall. Hunt was the next UI finisher, three spots back, and Dunnavan was the fourth Illini across the line.

"I do have a sense of a new team with new momentum," Hunt said. "Hopefully by the end of the season, we can connect and have the strength of the seniors' experience ... and have a really good team.

"It's fun to know that we have a lot more potential."

BACK IN THE RUNNING

A look at the 1999 Illinois cross-country teams:

Men

COACH: Gary Wieneke (33rd year).

TOP RETURNEES: Ryan Eason, Dan Horyn, Mike Lucchesi, Scott McClennan, Jon Russell, Jason VanSwol.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Tim Moran (Tinley Park Andrew), Brent Pfeiffer (Naperville North), Aaron Wahls (Pontiac), Ryan Young (Prairie Central).

NEXT MEET: Illini Invitational, 10:30 a.m. at UI Blue Golf Course in Savoy.

1998 BIG TEN FINISH: Eighth.

1998 NCAA DISTRICT V FINISH: Fifth.

OUTLOOK: The Illini hope last year's strong showing in the district meet is a springboard to better things in '99. The past two years, Illinois has uncharacteristically struggled at the Big Ten meet, placing ninth and eighth. In 23 of the previous 24 years, the Illini finished in the upper half of the conference. Illinois won't have inexperience as an excuse. Of the top returnees, all but VanSwol are upperclassmen. McClennan, a two-time All-Region runner, again figures to set the pace.

WIENEKE'S COMMENT: "We're well-seasoned. We've got good experience, good depth. There isn't any reason not to have high expectation levels."

Women

COACH: Michelle Byrne (third year).

TOP RETURNEES: Danielle Fonzino, Tara Mendozza, Jamie Paul, Laura Robbins.

TOP NEWCOMERS: Lyndsey Dunnavan (Rockford Guilford), Amber Hunt (Naperville Central), Cecelia Williams (Elmhurst York).

NEXT MEET: Illini Invitational, 11:30 a.m. at UI Blue Golf Course in Savoy.

1998 BIG TEN FINISH: Eighth.

1998 NCAA DISTRICT V FINISH: Fifth.

OUTLOOK: The addition of a promising freshman class gives Illinois reason to expect improvement. The outlook would be brighter if junior Lindsay Martin (tibia stress fracture) and senior Candace Nicholson (no longer at UI for academic reasons) were available. Martin might redshirt. Regaining senior Fonzino, who gave up the sport last year, will help if she isn't affected by the layoff. In 1997, Fonzino was the UI's top finisher in four meets.

BYRNE'S COMMENT: "The expectations are we definitely will look for a top-six finish and above at the Big Ten meet."