Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Cross Country Gears Up For Championship Season
10/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Oct. 25, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Cross country is different than most other sports at the collegiate level. Rankings are nice, but nothing truly matters until the championship season rolls around and the results are all that count. For the Northwestern women, that time has arrived.
This Sunday, the Wildcats will join its conference foes on the University of Illinois' Orange and Blue University Golf Course in Savoy, Ill., for the first leg of the "second season," the Big Ten Championships. The women's 5-kilometer race will take place at 10:45 a.m., while the men's 8-kilometer race will go off at approximately 11:30 a.m.
"Our season starts now," said head coach Amy Tush. "The postseason, in many ways, is our season. We've gotten a little more specific with our training, as we've got just nine runners this weekend, and from there it goes down to seven. In addition, our training has been faster and geared toward the other Big Ten schools."
Wisconsin has been the dominant force on the women's side, winning six straight titles including a 70-point win in 1999 and a 55-point win last year. The Badgers are led by senior Erica Palmer, the two-time defending individual champion. This year's title chase could be interesting, though, as Michigan State currently holds the No. 6 ranking nationally, as compared to Wisconsin's No. 14 position.
For Tush, the focus will be on finishing at the top of the next group. In addition, this will be another step toward another goal--namely, finishing among the top two at the NCAA Midwest Regional race in two weekends and gaining an NCAA bid.
"Wisconsin and Michigan State are kind of in a league of their own right now, they should battle for the title," said Tush. "We are in a thick middle pack, and I honestly think we could finish anywhere from third place to ninth place. There is that much balance at this point."
Individually, Tush is counting on Rachel Evjen (Eau Claire, Wis./North) to lead the way. Evjen has established herself as one of the region's top runners, and after gaining second team All-Big Ten honors last year she is hoping to crash the first team this weekend.
Two seniors will make their final Big Ten appearance this weekend, as Sara Jurek (Tulsa, Okla./Cascia Hall) and Jennifer Anderson (Rockford, Ill./Auburn Academy) hope to be among NU's scorers. The other women who will run for the Wildcats Sunday morning are Nora Colligan (Rockford, Mich./Rockford), Kyna Forkins (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West), Diana Hossfeld (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar), Nicole Kalogeropoulos (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Fremd), Nicole Kuznia (Olivia, Minn./BOLD) and Karen Rogers (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood).
"Rachel is in much better shape than she was a year ago," said Tush. "Realistically, she is a legitimate top-10 candidate, and Diana could also finish in the top 10. The key for us will be to stay within range of each other and have our fourth and fifth runners in a position to score low points for us."
