Senior Ava Earl placed 14th as Northwestern cross country finished seventh at Friday’s Big Ten Championships in Champaign.
With her top-20 spot in the standings, Earl received All-Big Ten Second-Team honors for the first time as the Wildcats’ top five runners finished with new 6k personal bests.
NU’s 201-point performance was one spot below last year’s sixth-place finish. Oregon finished with just 33 points to win the Big Ten title.
As she’s done for most races this season, Earl led the charge Friday morning at the Orange & Blue Golf Course. She clocked a 19:42.2 and shaved 32 seconds off her time at Oct. 18’s Bradley Pink Classic.
Graduate student Chloe Wellings also smashed a new personal best by more than 30 seconds. Her time of 20:05.7 earned her a 33rd-place finish.
Scraping seven seconds off of her previous 6k best, junior Maddy Whitman crossed the finish line inside the top 50 with a time of 20:15.6.
Sophomore Ava Criniti placed 54th in her first postseason race and recorded a personal best 20:20.7. The final top-five racer, sophomore Jackie Holman, also ran her personal best for the third consecutive race with a time of 20.24.9.
The season isn’t over for the ’Cats as they will face the region’s preeminent squads on Nov. 18 at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Peoria. Last year, NU finished third overall, with Earl leading the way in eighth place.
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
—Cross Country: Northwestern earns pair of first-place finishes at Bradley Pink Classic
—Cross Country: Alaska native Ava Earl stars as squad climbs to new heights
—Cross Country: Northwestern places third at Loyola Lakefront Invite
