Northwestern freshman Allegra Mayer needed only one race to announce she would play a key role in her team’s success this season.
Mayer finished eighth overall and first among NU runners in the DePaul Early Bird Invitational, the first stride in what has been a solid first year.
“Allie was a very accomplished high school runner,” coach April Likhite said. “She had a phenomenal junior and senior campaign. We knew coming in that she was going to immediately contribute to our program.”
Mayer, a four-time qualifier for the California Cross Country Championships while in high school, was also the Wildcats’ top runner at the Huskie Open, the team’s second meet of the year. At that race, she finished third overall, covering the 5K course in 19:06.
“Sometimes not thinking too much in the sport of cross country helps,” Likhite said. “And that’s what she does in races. She wants to finish the race and say, ‘I left it all on the course,’ and that’s what she’s shown us.”
Mayer attributed much of her strong start to a summer of quality workouts back in California.
“I trained really hard over the summer,” she said. “I was really serious about doing all the extra core workouts, just following all of our summer training plans. It was nice that, since I came from a really strong high school program, I could train with them through the summer.”
At the Roy Griak Invitational on Sept. 26, Mayer did not finish. Then, Likhite said it appeared the freshman was dehydrated and was removed. Without Mayer as part of NU’s front pack, the team finished 12th out of 17 teams. Had Mayer finished in a pack with teammates Hallie Busta and Paulina Garcia, NU could have potentially moved up to eighth place in the meet.
The Cats showcased their tight pack at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational hosted by Loyola. At that meet, Mayer was NU’s fourth finisher. She ran with Busta and Garcia throughout the race, and the trio finished within 13 seconds of each other.
Mayer took 37th place, navigating the 5K course in 18:59, which is only seven seconds slower than her personal best.
This weekend, the Cats will be running a 6K race Friday at the Bradley Classic in Peoria. The NCAA-level races are all six kilometers, and the Classic will allow NU to see where it stands at that distance.
“All of our training is for a 6K,” Busta said. “A big part of it is the mental part. We all try to focus on slowing down a little. … A lot of us come out of high school running a 5K, but ultimately (a 6K) is just four more minutes of running.”
The event will be the team’s second time racing a 6K this season. Because she did not finish at the 6K Griak Invitational, this meet will serve as another opportunity for Mayer to gain experience at the collegiate level, though she showed experience was not essential for success early this season.
“In June, I probably couldn’t have said she was going to be our No. 1 runner heading into the first two meets,” Likhite said. “But she just goes out there and competes from the start.”
