Share Tweet Share Email

Cross country caps regular season at Bradley

October 12, 2011

Huskies women's cross countryThe Northern Illinois cross country team will wrap up its regular season Friday, Oct. 14, when the runners head to Peoria for the Bradley Classic.

The meet will get under way on the Newman Golf Course at 4 p.m. with the women’s 6K run. That will be followed at 5 p.m. with the men’s 8K race.

“We’re looking to continue the improvements we have had in being aggressive and how well we have run,” said Huskie head coach Greg Hipp. “This is going to be our first 6K, so confidence to move up in the distance is going to be an important factor in whether we are successful this weekend.”

The 21-team field will feature a total of nine schools from the state of Illinois, including Chicagoland rivals Illinois-Chicago and Loyola, along with Illinois, Illinois State and Eastern Illinois. Other schools in the field include MAC foe Eastern Michigan and defending Horizon League champion Butler.

“This is a similar field in quality as what we saw at the Loyola Lakefront meet,” Hipp said. “It’s not quite as large of a field, but there will be some good programs there.”

Last time out, NIU placed 20th out of 45 schools at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in downtown Chicago. Both Courtney Oldenburg and Claire McAuley posted top 100 finishes in the 500-plus runner field.

For more information on NIU cross country and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.