Northwestern battled hard at the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday but finished 31st of 34 teams in the 6000 meter white race.

NU’s team time of 1:54:36 was 62nd among the 69 squads competing in the two women’s races. Freshman Alison King was the first NU runner to cross the finish line, coming in 137th with a time of 22:33. It was the second time a Cats freshman has led the team at the finish line.

“Alison has actually been our most consistent runner this year,” coach Amy Tush said. “It’s just been a waiting game for when she was going to take over the top spot. She had a big (personal record).”

“I fed off of the energy of my teammates,” said King, who also believed she was spurred on by the tough competition. “My coach told the team to go out fast and get in good position, and that’s what I tried to do.”

At the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational two weeks ago, freshman Hilary Forman paced the Cats. On Saturday though, Forman could not keep up with King and finished 154th with a time of 22:49. Sophomore Celia Franklin, a Daily staffer, followed her with a time of 22:55 for 166th place.

The final two NU runners to score were the only ones with prior Pre-Nationals experience. Junior Mallory O’Niel finished 180th, and sophomore Marie Grabinski finished 182nd.

The performance was a significant improvement for O’Niel, who finished in 23:40 last year. But Grabinski’s time was nearly a minute behind her 2004 result.

“Marie’s having a tough season. But it’s only her third year ever running cross country,” Tush said. “She’s still only a sophomore and she’s still learning who she is as a runner. She’ll be back.”

Five other Cats competed in the women’s open race and ran into similarly tough competition. NU was 12th out of 13 teams with a score of 302. Michigan finished in the lead, coming in with 20 points.

Senior Jessica Anderson led the Cats, finishing 44th in 23:44. That time was better than the times of two NU runners in the white race.

The meet was hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., on the same course where the national championships are run.

In the white race, No. 2 Michigan won with 86 points, led by sophomore Alyson Kohlmeier’s fourth place finish in 20:27. The Wolverines were followed by No. 6 Arizona State with 96 points and No. 5 Illinois with 117 points. NU finished well back with 819. Colorado senior Christine Bolf won the race with a time of 20:13.

NU’s third race of the day occurred in Vernon Hills, Ill., at the Forester Invitational hosted by Lake Forest College. Among just five teams competing, the Cats finished third with 65 points. Illinois Institute of Technology finished first with 34.

Sophomore Natalie Bond improved on her ninth place finish of a year ago at the event by leading the Cats with a fifth place time of 21:13.

NU’s next meet will be the Big Ten Championships on October 30 in Minneapolis.

“We have a solid core group of six runners right now,” Tush said. “The Big Ten is very tough, but I think we can do well.”

Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].