Ranked No. 26 headed into the week, Northwestern women’s cross country was riding a high after back-to-back first-place finishes in its opening meets to begin the year (Cowboy Preview and Big Ten Preview, respectively). Led by three Wildcat runners finishing inside the top 10, the ‘Cats enjoyed a successful meet on Thursday en route to a second-place finish.
The Wildcats headed into the city of Chicago, just a train ride away, on Thursday morning hoping to continue their momentum earned from the previous
two meets. Graduate student Ava Earl led the way for NU, posting a 19:51.02 finish in the women’s 6k championship race, eventually slotting in at fourth place.
Alongside her in purple and white was fellow fifth-year Holly Smith, who finished just five seconds later (19:55.25) and finished in fifth, breaking her previous personal record in the process. And not too far behind them was redshirt sophomore Ava Criniti, who earned eighth place with a time of 19:58.59, marking her third straight top-10 finish of the year.
Rounding out the squad in the race were Jackie Holman (20:12.75) and Skye Ellis (20:19.04), who each placed inside the top 25 amidst achieving their respective personal bests.
Outside of the 6k championships, the 6k open race that same morning was similarly well-represented by the ‘Cats, with three finishing inside the top 10 again. Kailey Zagst (21:36.45) led the way with a fifth-place finish, while Marley McCullough (7th; 21:45.36) and Jaya Simmons (10th; 21:55.59) were practically right alongside her.
Overall, Northwestern finished as a team with 59 points, placing second behind only No. 2 North Carolina State (34 points) on the day. NU placed ahead of six ranked teams in the invitational, including No. 3 Gonzaga (124 points).
The Wildcats will end their regular season action on Friday, October 17 at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, starting at 10:30 a.m. CT.
