Northwestern kicked off its indoor track season on a high note, nabbing a flurry of individual accolades at Friday’s Aurora Grand Prix. Junior Ava Earl and sophomore Skye Ellis led their squad from the front, as the pair earned first-place finishes in the one-mile and 3000-meter races, respectively.
Shifting inside from a stellar outdoor fall season, the Wildcats demonstrated their mid-distance prowess. NU dominated the 3000-meter race, sweeping the top five.
Ellis crossed the finish line in a first-place 9:42 time, with junior Anna Hightower coming in second at 9:48 and junior Fiona Lenth finishing within a second of her classmate to round off the top three.
Freshman Jackie Holman showcased her potential, capturing a fourth-place finish to slightly best sophomore Maddy Whitman’s fifth-place 9:56 time. Junior Whitney Currie finished in eighth out of the 30 runners, capping off her event with a time of 10:16.
For NU’s NCAA Championships individual qualifier, success swiftly shifted from the region’s cross country courses to the indoor track scene.
Earl blazed to first place in the mile with a blistering 4:42 pace, beating the second-place finisher by more than 12 seconds. Freshman Ava Criniti was the first of three NU runners to sweep fourth, fifth and sixth place, crossing the finish line in 4:57. Graduate students Kalea Bartolotto and Rachel Sessa followed behind, notching 4:57 and 5:00 finishes.
The ‘Cats will split their squads for two events next weekend, as NU gears up to compete in Seattle’s UW Invitational and DePaul’s Blue Demon Alumni Classic.
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