Northwestern extended its streak of top-three finishes to three straight by finishing first place in the Big Ten Preview Friday.

At the race, which was held at the Orange and Blue Golf Course in Champaign and hosted by the University of Illinois, senior Ava Earl finished in third place, graduate student Holly Smith took fourth place and sophomore Ava Criniti finished in fifth place.

Earl’s time of 20:17.3 was a new personal best for the NU star runner, who hails from Girdwood, Alaska. The senior competed at the NCAA Championships last fall and finished among the top 65 runners.

Smith shaved eight seconds off her personal best, finishing in 20:20.8, and graduate student Chloe Wellings, who finished 11th, set a personal best of her own with a time of 20:47.6. Junior Skye Ellis finished 17th, rounding out NU’s top five with another personal best of 21:04.0.

All five of the ’Cats’ top runners set personal bests in the 6K Friday.

The race featured nine programs, all but two hailing from the Big Ten. No. 19 Wisconsin, ranked nationally by the USTFCCCA, finished in second place behind NU.

The ’Cats earned just 40 points at Friday’s meet, while the Badgers obtained 63. Cross country is scored like golf, meaning the lowest score wins; the places of the top five finishers per program determine the team’s score. 

NU’s next meet will be in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sept. 27 at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @HenryFrieman

Related Stories:

— Northwestern excels in unseeded races, Ava Earl crushes personal record at Valentine Invitational

— Cross Country: Ava Earl and Skye Ellis star at UW and Blue Demon Invitationals

— Cross Country: Northwestern’s Earl, Ellis secure event victories at Aurora Grand Prix