The Northern Illinois women’s cross country team will hit the road for the second-straight competition this Friday, when the Huskies head to Notre Dame to compete in the 55th Notre Dame Invitational.
The Huskies will be off and running at 2 p.m. at the Notre Dame Golf Course.
Improving with each race this season, Northern Illinois head cross country coach Connie Teaberry is confident the team will fare well at the invitational.
“We’re really happy with the progress of the team,” said Teaberry. “We’re heading to the Notre Dame Invitational this weekend, nearly every girl on the team will be traveling, and we’re expecting to continue to see the group, and their performances, improve. There will be some tough competition there, but we are ready to step up to the plate.”
Racing against nine of the nation’s top-30 teams at the Roy Griak Invitational last weekend, the Huskies will once again be put to the test when they face Villanova (#1), Florida State (#2), Washington (#3), Oregon (#5), Princeton (#8), and New Mexico (#12).
Last weekend, Courtney Oldenburg led the Huskies at the Roy Griak Invitational with a six-kilometer time of 22:48.6. Lindsay DeReadt came in second for NIU with a time of 24:44.3, while Nora Ferguson (25:04.9), Sunsea Shaw (25:22.2) and Claire McAuley (25:27.5) rounded out the top-five finishers for the Huskies.
The Huskies will be competing in the Notre Dame Invitational for the first time since 2006, where NIU finished 19th of 24 teams. Returning after a four-year hiatus from the invite, the Huskies will look to come back strong when they compete in the five-kilometer gold division race on Friday.
Following this weekend’s race, the NIU will return to action on Oct. 16 when the Huskies compete in Tori Neubauer Invitational in West Salem, Wis.
For more information on NIU cross country and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
