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Runners end season at NCAA Midwest Regional

November 16, 2013
Meghan Heuer

Meghan Heuer

The Northern Illinois University cross country team saw its season come to a close Friday afternoon in Ames, Iowa, at the NCAA Midwest Regionals.

As a team, the Huskies finished in 23rd place, beating out Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, DePaul, Creighton, UIC and North Dakota in the final standings. Meghan Heuer paced NIU with a 45th-place finish.

“We executed our races much better today,” said NIU head coach Greg Hipp. “The ladies committed to getting out in better position today. We were 19th as a team halfway and, even though we fell back a few spots in the final mile, I’m proud of them for going after a big race.”

Heuer, a native of St. Charles, Ill., was the first Huskie to cross the finish line, clocking in at 21:31.00. Behind her was Ali Olson, who took 116th place at a time of 22:24.70.

“Meghan was impressive,” Hipp said. “She had her best regional finish ever, improving four spots from where she was as a freshman.”

Taking third among NIU runners was Leah Raffety, who ran 22:27.60 to place 121st. Rounding out the Huskie scorers were Juliane Totzke and Carly Pederson. Totzke took 147th place at 22:47.20, while Pederson was 175th at 23:21.20.

Competing in her final meet as a Huskie, senior Claire McAuley finished in 179th place, crossing the finish line at 23:28.10.

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