Graduate students Holly Smith and Chloe Wellings sat on a couch in Northwestern cross country’s team lounge, coach Jill Miller’s dog Lou curled up between them.
A year ago, the two United Kingdom natives had never met. Today, they’re roommates who watch British reality television together –– The Real Housewives of Cheshire is a favorite.
Smith and Wellings joined Miller’s program this summer as graduate transfers from mid-major schools. And, in two days, the duo will run in the NCAA Midwest Regionals with a chance to qualify NU for its second NCAA National Championship berth in the past three seasons.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Smith said. “We just need to execute that each race.”
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After spending four years at Big South school Radford, Wellings entered the transfer portal in Fall 2023. Smith, who ran for MAAC program Iona, put her name into the portal in mid-December of that year.
In addition to contacting the runners, Miller reached out to their coaches. She said a point of emphasis in her transfer portal recruiting, especially as it pertains to graduate transfers, is communication with the coaches who have overseen the athletes for their prior years of collegiate eligibility.
“I know both of their previous coaches really well, and that was another way in which we changed how we recruit a grad transfer,” Miller said. “If I don’t know that the previous coach really wants to keep the athlete, I think that has to raise a concern.”
The two came to campus separately last winter, touring the facilities and spending time with the team. Both committed to NU shortly thereafter.
Wellings, who hails from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, led Radford in four of five meets in 2023 and four of six meets in 2022. She earned a fifth-place finish at the Big South Championships in 2023, running a blistering personal-best 17:16.4 5K.
Her 5K pace at the Big South Championships ranked second-best in Radford school history and earned her All-Big South honors.
But Wellings said leading the pack while her team trailed behind was an anxiety-inducing experience come race time.
“Your team’s there, but they’re not running with you, they’re back in the pack, or wherever they are. Not knowing how to manage that stress, or those feelings kind of hinders your race,” Wellings said. “So when it came time to lock in, I didn’t really lock in.”
With the ’Cats, Wellings said that working with her teammates and support staff has helped her reach a new level on the course.
Since the Nuttycombe Invitational on Sept. 27, Wellings has set personal bests in every meet she’s run in. Her 20:05.7 6K effort in the Big Ten Championships Nov. 1 cleared her previous best by half a minute.
The nerves have, for the most part, dissipated.
“Ironically, what she thought was one of her weaknesses coming in was managing those nerves and anxiety,” Miller said. “She’s now someone that folks on our team will gravitate to (on race day) because she’s so calm.”
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Smith joins the NU from Cheshire, England. She’s no stranger to running with the ’Cats.
Last season, Smith finished in third place at the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational, placing 18 places above NU’s top finisher. In an impressive campaign last season, she earned All-MAAC honors by coming in fifth place at the MAAC Championship.
Smith paced the Gaels in the NCAA Northeast Regional, finishing 23rd with a time of 20:28.29 on the 6K course and earning All-Region honors.
She started her NU career off strong, finishing 7th in the Badger Classic in her debut race. She followed that up with a personal best at the Big Ten Preview, running a blazing 20:20.8 and finishing fourth while the team won top honors.
“Holly is an athlete that we all know is going to give it everything she’s got every time she goes out there,” Miller said. “She brings a very no-nonsense intensity to the group, but she also is very thoughtful and very caring … She cares about the goals of the team, and she cares about performance, and that’s really clear.”
There’s a significant competitive difference between the MAAC and the Big Ten, Smith said. At the Big Ten Championships last week, she and the squad lined up next to Olympians.
There’s a certain pride Smith feels when she lines up in her purple and white uniform, an energy which jolts her the second the starting pistol fires.
“We’ve transferred here to be great, and once we leave, we can create a legacy of making it to Nationals and competing well,” Smith said. “If we go into every race with pride of running for Northwestern and what we can achieve as a team, then that pushes you forward through a race.”
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In the team lounge, a framed poster sits on a desk beside the door. Within the poster, the values of NU cross country are emblazoned: “All-American Grindset,” confidence, discipline, energy, gratitude and trust.
Since most of the runners on the team were recruited to join the ’Cats out of high school, they have spent their collegiate careers with the program. Wellings and Smith are still newcomers to the team.
It’s a concept of relativity that Miller highlighted, as the two can provide a fresh lens on the culture and practices surrounding the program.
In doing so, Miller said both Smith and Wellings exemplify the value of gratitude. She recalled the first time that Wellings stepped onto the team bus for practice, amazed.
“She’s calling her boyfriend, texting her family, ‘They have this big bus to take us to practice!’” Miller said. “That energy helps everybody … I think all of the elements of our values that they live are important, but maybe the biggest one is that gratitude and letting that infiltrate the group.”
Both runners credited NU’s dynamic team spirit as a consistent motivator this season. On Wellings’ visit to Evanston, she said the friendliness of the team was a huge factor in her commitment.
“Immediately, they’ve just met you, and they’re so supportive, and they’re talking about the future of you being on the team and what that would look like,” Wellings said. “So that was just nice, to come into a big group of girls, which can be difficult sometimes, and just being accepted straight away.”
Smith said another factor that helped her pick the ’Cats was the support staff that could help her train and compete at the highest level.
It was pure coincidence that both committed to NU, but Smith and Wellings said it’s been a blessing.
The two do everything together, Wellings said, which helps during hard days. After all, the two are nearly 3,800 miles from their hometowns.
“You do miss home, but having another English person on the team really does help,” Smith said.
The squad is bound for Peoria later this week, where Friday’s NCAA Midwest Regionals await.
The stakes are high, as is the pressure: NU must finish within the top two teams to qualify for the national championship.
But Miller said she isn’t worried.
“We have a team that is cohesive from every angle,” Miller said. “We’re a team that, from top to bottom, everyone wants to race. I know that they’re going to give it everything that they’ve got, and so that gives me a ton of confidence.”
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