Just four years after climbing back to varsity status, Northwestern’s cross country team returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1985.

But the Wildcats couldn’t keep up with the nation’s best and placed second to last.

NU finished 30th out of 31 teams, beating Washington to avoid coming in last at the Terre Haute, Ind., tournament. Brigham Young took first place.

The Cats weren’t disappointed with the result, choosing instead to focus on the successful season that got them there.

“We were satisfied. We were just so happy to be there,” sophomore Diana Hossfeld said. “It was an incredible experience. The caliber of runners there was incredible.”

Senior Rachel Evjen led the squad, running the 6-kilometer course in 21:11 to finish 67th out of 254 runners. North Carolina junior Shalane Flanagan won with a time of 19:36.

Two other Cats finished in less than 22 minutes. Senior Laura Evans ran a 21:45, good for 128th place, and Hossfeld finished one second and two places behind her.

No NU runner ran her best race of the season. Hossfeld said the size and shape of the course — two 3-kilometer loops — made the race one of the most difficult of the year.

Before the race, Evjen said she felt mixed emotions.

While she was excited to run against the nation’s best, she knew the race would be the last of her collegiate career. And she knew NU had a lot to prove.

“No one thinks we should be here,” she said before the race. “They think it’s kind of a fluke.”

While the seniors begin to focus on life after long-distance running, the remaining members of the team will have to figure out how they can replicate this year’s performance without the seniors they’ll lose to graduation.

“We are losing four of our top runners, but we would all love to go back to the nationals,” Hossfeld said.

“Once you’ve been there, it’s an incredible experience, and you want to go back. I don’t know if we can, but we’re going to try next year.”