The Wildcats closed out their season quietly at Saturday’s Midwest Regional Championships and turned their attention toward the future.
NU scored 427 points, finishing 16th of the 27 teams competing at the 6K meet in Iowa City, Iowa. Neither the team nor any individual NU runner qualified for the national championships.
Wichita State senior Desiraye Osburn was the top finisher with a time of 20:43, and Oklahoma State was the top team with 71 points.
For the first time this season, the Cats had a repeat top finisher. In the team’s first five races, a different runner led the team each time. But sophomore Celia Franklin, a Daily staffer, who finished first on the squad at the Big Ten Championships, led the Cats for the second consecutive race by finishing 63rd on Saturday.
After Franklin finished in 23:03, freshman Alison King was the next NU finisher, coming in 68th in 23:15. Freshman Hilary Forman crossed the line next for the Cats, her time of 23:19 good for 70th place.
These runners are part of the team’s youth movement, which has coach Amy Tush looking eagerly toward the future.
“I’m really excited about next year,” Tush said. “This year we have a lot of freshman and sophomores who have basically been our big guns. I’m really excited to see what we can do the next few years with that group.”
NU’s fourth runner Saturday was junior Mallory O’Niel, who finished 110th in 24:15. Sophomore Marie Grabinski was next, coming in 116th in 24:24. It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season for Grabinski, who was the team’s undisputed top runner last year as a freshman. She led the Cats in their first race this season before falling on some hard times.
“She’s still an inexperienced runner,” Tush said about Grabinski, who has only been with the sport for three years. “She’s still learning how to train and run in races. Everyone can’t be on top every year, and this is that year for her. This year is a learning experience for her. She’ll come back strong for the track season and for cross country next year.”
Senior Jessica Anderson was NU’s sixth and final runner, even though she wasn’t initially in the team’s lineup for Saturday. Freshmen Carly Brown and Megan Young were supposed to race for the Cats, but Brown contracted mono and Young came down with bronchitis, causing both to be scratched from the lineup.
Because of these illnesses, Tush told Anderson she would be running in Regionals for the first time.
“I definitely had mixed emotions,” Anderson said. “I was upset for my teammates who worked hard this year and deserved to run in the race but weren’t able to. But at the same time, to be given one more chance to run was great.”
“It was great for her to get out there,” Tush added. “It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster for her since she’s a senior.”
Anderson finished in 129th place with a time of 24:53, wrapping up her NU career, which she looked back on with fondness.
“The experience of being an NU student-athlete has been amazing,” Anderson said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Having been with the team for four years, Anderson has some perspective on the season and where the team is headed.
“It’s hard to have any expectations when you have such an inexperienced team,” Anderson said. “The talent was there this year, and we were hoping to do a lot better. But it gave them a chance to grow as runners and learn about racing strategy. The year was a disappointment but it was a rebuilding year. It will pay dividends in the future.”
Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].
