Racing for the second-consecutive weekend the Northern Illinois women’s cross country team wrapped action at the 55th Notre Dame Invitational in Notre Dame, Ind., with a 16th-place finish.
The Huskies faced tough competition Friday afternoon from Mid-American Conference foes Ball State, Buffalo and Western Michigan at the Notre Dame Golf Course.
Recording a personal record at the invite, sophomore Courtney Oldenburg saw the Huskies top finish of the afternoon when she raced to a time of 18:29. Her performance ties the second-fastest five-kilometer time in NIU school history and bests her 2009 5k record of 18:38. Oldenburg time ties teammate Sunsea Shaw’s second-place record time (18:29) that was set in 2007.
Lindsay DeReadt finished second for the Huskies with a time of 19:14, a mark that places her 69th overall at the invitational. Seniors Sunsea Shaw and Breanna Brevitt finished third and fourth for NIU, respectively. Shaw crossed the finish line in a time of 19:58, while Brevitt finished the race in a time of 20:14. Rounding out the top-five competitors for NIU was Nora Ferguson, who finished just four second behind Brevitt in a time of 20:18.
“We didn’t run as well as I would have liked,” assistant coach Mark McConeghey said. “I would have liked to see the girls compete a little better, but we trained hard on Wednesday, and I think the girls were a little tired at the competition today.”
The Huskies caught a glimpse of their Mid-American Conference competition of Friday when the Huskies competed against Ball State, Western Michigan and Buffalo at today’s invite. Western Michigan saw the best MAC finish, claiming fifth place, while Ball State place 10th and Buffalo finished 12th.
“Racing against Ball State, WMU and Buffalo, was very good because it helped us see where we stand,” McConeghey said. “We know we need to step up our performances in order to fare well at the MAC championships. I think today benefitted us because we learned from the race and that will help us in the rest of the season.”
The Huskies will return to action Saturday, Oct. 16, when they compete at the Tori Neubauer Invitational in West Salem, Wis. The invitational will be the Huskies final regular-season competition before heading Saturday, Oct. 30, to the MAC Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich.
For more information on NIU cross country and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
