For senior Melinda Ratz, this weekend’s Forester Invitational is one of her final opportunities to accomplish her season-long goal of breaking into the Wildcats’ top 12. Right now she said she is around 13th.
“I’m still right there,” Ratz said. “I’m still trying.”
Ratz joined the cross country team during the spring of her sophomore year, at the urging of her friend, and now teammate, senior Nora Colligan. As her second and final season ends, Ratz hopes she will both break 20 minutes on the 5-K course and move into the top 12.
The Wildcats women’s cross country team races Saturday without their top 12, so some of the runners who are often overshadowed by their teammates will have their weekend to shine — and possibly up their team standing.
Individual rankings within the team are becoming more important as the end of the regular season approaches. The top seven runners will be running in the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Cedar Falls, Iowa, next weekend, while the next 12 will be competing on the same day at the Wisconsin-Parkside Open in Kenosha, Wis.
The dozen runners at Kenosha will compete for the final two spots to join the Cats’ top seven in the Big Ten Championships on Nov. 2.
Even as the desire to place in the top 12 becomes more intense, sophomore Ashley Roberts said the top 12 is chosen based on the women’s performance both in races and in practice.
“Our team is very competitive — but not cutthroat,” Roberts said. “Every race is a chance to be in the top 12. The people who are top 12 obviously should be there. They are the people who are running best and racing best.”
Given that NU has won the Lake Forest, Ill., meet for the past five years meet without its top runners racing, it is only natural for the team to hope the tradition will continue.
“Our main goal is to win this race again,” Roberts said.
Even though the Wildcats will send out the bottom half of its squad, Coach Amy Tush said this meet should not be seen as a JV race.
“This is our squad for the weekend,” Tush said. “This meet means as much in the scheme of things as Pre-Nationals.”
The smaller-scale race will allow the runners to work on racing strategy, Roberts said.
“We are going to work on staying together a lot more,” Roberts said. “We’ll be able to see each other and to run in packs. It should be easier because there will be fewer people.”
This weekend’s race will be significantly smaller than last weekend’s meet at Loyola, where 560 girls raced. Also in contrast to the Loyola meet, the teams at Saturday’s race will not be as competitive as teams NU typically races against.
“There are going to be girls that have never ran and scored in a meet for Northwestern,” Tush said. “This meet is a huge positive because they are able to contribute to a win, control the pace and place in the top 20.”
