BOSTON  You won''t find posters of star runners Bill Rodgers or Uta Pippig on Miriam Nibley''s wall. She''s not one of those crazed Boston Marathon fans.

   But there she''ll be Monday morning, lined up for the nation''s most famous 26 mile, 385-yard race.

   When she first arrived at the University of Illinois, Nibley never even thought about racing. Period. The Provo, Utah, native picked the school because of its disabled athletic program for basketball.

   "That''s exactly the reason I came here," Nibley said. "People I talked to said that''s the place to go. They have the best coaches, the best program."

   It didn''t take UI wheelchair track and field coach Marty Morse long to find Nibley. He convinced her to try racing. Still, Nibley wasn''t thinking about marathons. Then she saw seven-time Boston champion Jean Driscoll''s documentary "Against the Wind."

   "That''s what really motivated me to do Boston," Nibley said. "I don''t like long distances in general. From her story, it sounds like a lot of fun and a great challenge."

   Nibley didn''t know it, but Morse has big plans for her. He hopes Nibley becomes "the next Jean Driscoll."

   "She could finish in the top five here," Morse said. "She is extremely talented."

   Nibley sounds surprised by Morse''s praise. She can''t believe he thinks of her having Driscoll-like potential.

   "Of course, he didn''t tell me that," Nibley said. "That gives me a little bit more confidence in myself."

   Nibley is 1 of 4 UI team members competing at Boston for the first time. She''ll be joined by Patrick Cottini, Ian Rice and Teresa Brandenburg.

   They are part of Illinois'' continued dominance in wheelchair track and field.

   "The Illinois wheelchair athletic program is like football to Notre Dame," Cottini said.

   Cottini is quick to point out that the dominance started long before Driscoll. When Cottini first arrived at the school, Driscoll hadn''t reached her current lofty status.

   Sharon Hedrick served as Cottini''s mentor early in his career. He watched her win the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics.

   Cottini has been racing for eight years, with the last 6 1/2 at the UI. The 24-year-old graduate student is working on his master''s in rehab administration.

   The Californian doesn''t expect to finish with the leaders at Boston. The race has just one men''s wheelchair division. Most races have paraplegic and quadriplegic divisions.

   "The Boston Marathon hasn''t progressed in that area," said Cottini, a quadriplegic. "Everybody competes against everybody.

   "It makes it hard for me to compete against a paraplegic who has a lot more muscle groups that he can utilize."

   With no realistic hope of winning, Cottini is setting personal goals for the race.

   Cottini won a bronze medal in his division at the Atlanta Paralympics. Like Boston, that course was considered difficult.

   "I do very well on hills," Cottini said.

   Cottini might want to talk to his teammates, who are nervous about the hills. There aren''t places in East Central Illinois that match the terrain for the Boston race.

   "I am a little nervous about the sequence of the hills," Brandenburg said. "I don''t know what kind of hills they''re talking about yet."

   Brandenburg is new to the sport. The Toledo, Ill., native is in just her second season of racing.

   Like Cottini, Brandenburg doesn''t consider herself a title threat.

   "Right now, I do it for the love of the race," she said. "Maybe that''s because my times aren''t that good."

   Boston will be Brandenburg''s second marathon. She qualified for the race by finishing the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 30 minutes. She would have done better but had a flat tire at mile 13.

   Brandenburg''s hoping for another 2:30 finish Monday.

   "I''m thinking the flat (tire) and the hills kind of balance each other out," Brandenburg said.

   Driscoll will try to talk to all of the first-timers before the race. She will try to calm them and give them confidence. She knows every top five Illini finish gives another boost to the program.

   Driscoll won''t compete forever. And Morse is always on the lookout for potential stars.

   "It''s very important that we have a high level of quality," Morse said. "I work very hard to stay on the cutting edge of technique and training. We had 12 or 13 medals at the Paralympics. I don''t see that changing."

   Like Notre Dame football and Kentucky basketball, the reputation keeps the athletes coming.

   "The big hang-up is can they survive here academically," Morse said. "That''s the big thing right now. We''re getting some of the best athletes, but also they''re the brightest athletes."