Cross Country

Northwestern football isn’t the only team heading to Iowa this weekend.

The Wildcats are set to compete at the Iowa Regional Preview meet on Saturday. NU will race a 6K run against six other schools at the Ashton Cross Country course, site of the NCAA Midwest Regional in November.

Last weekend, the Cats competed in the Griak Invitational and placed 21st against a large and competitive field. This week’s smaller meet will give NU a chance to show well while preparing for regionals later in the season.

The Cats will race against Big Ten foes Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois, as well as Northern Illinois, Western Illinois and South Dakota. At the Griak Invitational, NU beat both the Hawkeyes and the Fighting Illini in the team standings, but finished behind the Huskies.

The Cats also have raced against Western Illinois this season, finishing behind the Leathernecks at the Bradley Intercollegiate on Sept. 16. But NU ran that meet without its two freshmen who have quickly become team leaders.

At the Griak Invitational, freshmen Aubrey Roberts and Sarah Nicholson both finished in the top 30 out of more than 300 runners. On the 6K course, Roberts finished 17th with a time of 22:17,  and Nicholson finished 26th with a time of 22:24.

With the newcomers in the mix for the Cats and impressing early in their careers, NU is set to finish well in the standings and build confidence with the end of the season looming.

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