Cross Country

Freshman Kelly O’Brien led the Wildcats at yet another meet, running the 1,500 meters in 4:27.90 at the Occidental Invitational to nearly re-break her own school record.

Her time Saturday was slightly slower than the 4:26.56 she posted in April to set Northwestern’s all-time best, but continued a string of strong spring outings. O’Brien now holds the top three times in program history in the 1,500, and also has the school record in the 800 meters.

O’Brien’s run in Los Angeles was good for seventh overall in the race. Junior Sara Coffey finished 24th.

Another freshman, Aubrey Roberts, led the Cats in the 5,000 meters, posting a personal best time of 16:51.82. Roberts finished 12th overall and was the first freshman to cross the line.

Five other NU runners also competed in the distance event, with Sarah Nicholson next best in 17th place. Nicholson, a freshman herself, was the only other Cats finisher under 17 minutes.

Junior Isabel Seidel rounded out the NU contingent, racing to a seventh-place mark in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The meet marked the end of the regular season portion of the Cats’ outdoor track campaign. No NU runner is currently within the top-48 cutoff to advance to NCAA Regionals, though some, like O’Brien in the 1,500, could advance if enough qualified runners choose not to compete.

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Twitter: @ckpaxton