Success has followed Northwestern wherever it has run this season.

The Wildcats finished first in both of their events so far. However, NU will face stiff competition in St. Paul, Minn., at the Roy Griak Invitational, one of two events the Cats will take part in on Saturday. The other event is the Forester Invitational in Libertyville, Ill. The Roy Griak Invitational features five of the top eight teams in the Midwest region, including the eighth-ranked Cats. Overall, eight of the top 30 schools in the country will run in Saturday’s event. The last time NU travelled to the event was 2009, when it finished 12th out of 17 teams.

The Cats are paced by junior Audrey Huth, who placed first and second overall in the first two races of the season. Huth was NU’s best finisher in the 2009 Roy Griak Invitational with a 36th place performance. Last season, Huth became the first runner from NU to qualify for the NCAA Championships since 2002. She placed 17th in the NCAA Midwest Regional. In their first event of the season, the Cats placed five runners in the top 25, including three in the top 10, to beat the five other squads at the Crusader Open on Sept. 2. Huth won the event as the only runner to record a sub-18 minute 5K, beating her closest competitor by eight seconds.

Eight days later, the Cats bested eight other schools at the Huskie Open. NU runners dominated the competition, finishing with eight of the top 10 times in the competition.

– Josh Walfish