After not appearing in the Midwest Region’s rankings all season, Northwestern knew the odds were stacked against it heading into its NCAA Regional on Saturday.
Coming off a last-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, the Wildcats needed to bounce back to end their season on a positive note, and the team did just that.
Behind a strong performance by its roster full of young runners, NU proved the pundits wrong by finishing 14th, breaking into the top 15 for the third consecutive season.
“I was really proud of how the girls were able to pick things up after Big Tens,” coach April Likhite said. “Because we do not have an official track and field program, the season really does end for us here with cross country. We had some great practices for the past week-and-a-half, and took advantage of that one last opportunity.”
Six of NU’s top seven runners are freshmen or sophomores, meaning the Cats’ success should carry over to next season. While the team was happy to break into the top-15 once again, it hopes this success is only the beginning of something more.
“It’s just a stepping stone to where we want to be in the future,” freshman Audrey Huth said. “It was more of a learning experience, so we know what to expect in years to come.” Huth led the Cats with her 54th-place finish. Sophomore Hallie Busta was the second NU runner across the line, taking 86th.
The Cats got a boost from the performances of freshman Moira Ryan and sophomore Abby Tracy. The duo had been NU’s sixth and seventh runners for most of the season, but they came up big at the regional. Ryan finished 92nd and Tracy took 97th, helping NU offset struggles by some of its other runners.
“Moira and Abby really came through for us,” Busta said. “They really sealed it for us and made sure we were able to get a top-15 (finish).”
Paulina Garcia, the lone NU senior to run at the regional, closed the scoring with her 115th-place finish. Garcia has been a consistent scorer for the Cats throughout her career.”Losing Paulina is going to be tough,” Likhite said. “Her leadership will be greatly missed.”
Besides returning nearly all of its regional squad, NU will add three runners who missed at least part of the season with injuries. Sophomores Sophie Ewald, Molly Waterhouse and Rachel Kaminski were unable to contribute to the team down the stretch.
Ewald was the team’s top runner last season but didn’t race this year due to injury, while Kaminski was a key contributor early in the year but developed a stress fracture in the middle of the season.
With the cupboard stocked heading into next year, the team is hoping to raise the bar.
“Having so many people returning is something we are definitely looking forward to,” Likhite said. “The future is exciting for Northwestern cross country.”[email protected]
