Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Cross Country Ready For Midwest Regional
11/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Nov. 7, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - After watching her team finish sixth at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago, Northwestern cross country coach Amy Tush could take solace knowing that, of the five teams that finished ahead of her Wildcats, only Minnesota will be in Carbondale, Ill., this Saturday morning.
Oh, the Wildcats' opposition at the NCAA Midwest Region Championship will contain other Big Ten schools. But the way Tush sees it, most of the competition for NU once the starting gun sounds at 10:30 a.m. will come from schools in other conferences. Namely, the Big 12.
"Minnesota has beaten us every time out this year, so they will be tough for us to overcome," said Tush. "Oklahoma State is the only ranked team in the region and finished second in the Big 12 championships behind Colorado, who was No. 1 most of the year, so they will be strong. I also expect Kansas State, Kansas and Missouri out of the Big 12 to be very competitive with us."
The Midwest Regional is one of nine being conducted around the country this weekend. The top two teams in each regional receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship meet, which will take place Monday, Nov. 19, at Furman, S.C. The NCAA committee then selects 13 teams at-large to round out the field.
Last year, Northwestern finished fourth at the Midwest Regional, then was edged out of an at-large bid by North Carolina State-a team the Wildcats had narrowly beaten in a meet earlier that season.
This time around, Tush would rather not leave NU's inclusion (or exclusion) in the hands of the selection committee.
"This is the meet where you control your NCAA destiny," she said. "If you finish among the top two teams, you are in the championships. However, if we do not finish in the first two teams, I think we've given the committee plenty of material to look at-we've run in all the big meets.
"Regardless of what happens this weekend, though, we've had a great season," she continued. "Remember, we've run without two of our top five runners, Laura Evans and Emily Blakeslee. If we have them we are a much different team."
In addition to team competition, the top four individuals whose teams do not earn an NCAA bid are invited to compete in the NCAA meet. Last year, Rachel Evjen (Eau Claire, Wis./North) was an All-District performer and ran as an individual in the 2000 NCAA Championships. Two weeks ago, Evjen became NU's first-ever first team All-Big Ten pick, and Tush is hoping to see her run in Furman, S.C., on Nov. 21. Tush also feels freshman Diana Hossfeld (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar) has an outside shot at earning a invitation.
"I think Rachel can realistically finish in the Top 10 and Diana can finish in the Top 15 at the regional," said Tush.
The key, as it has been all year long, will be in keeping the rest of the team within range of each other.
"We are ready for this weekend," said Tush. "The women know what they need to do, and they are ready to go out and do it."
Northwestern's other runners Saturday will be senior Sara Jurek (Tulsa, Okla./Cascia Hall), juniors Karen Rogers (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) and Nicole Kuznia (Olivia, Minn./BOLD), and sophomores Nora Colligan (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) and Nicole Kalogeropoulos (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Fremd).
