Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Illinois Invitational
Rachel Evjen Wins Again, at Illinois Invitational
9/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Sept. 22, 2001
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - For the second time in as many races, Northwestern junior Rachel Evjen (Eau Claire, Wis./North) won the individual title. Saturday at the Illinois Invitational, she broke the tape ahead of 144 other runners.
Running the 5-kilometer course that will serve as the site for this year's Big Ten Championships on October 28, Evjen clocked 17:22 to edge Illinois State's Stacia Beste. Beste's time was 17:23.
Led by Evjen, Northwestern finished third in the 15-team field. The Wildcats scored 77 points, and were nipped out of second place by Butler which had 76 points. New Northwestern head coach Amy Tush was an assistant at Butler prior to taking the NU job during the summer.
Wichita State won the team title with 66 points. A good sign for Northwestern was the fact that the Wildcats defeated the other three Big Ten teams in the race - Illinois was fifth with 101 points, Indiana was sixth with 119 points, and Iowa was 10th with 277 points.
Northwestern continues to run without senior Laura Evans (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg) and sophomore Emily Blakeslee (Rockford, Mich./Rockford), both of whom were scorers throughout last year for the 'Cats but are currently injured.
NU's second finisher Saturday was Diana Hossfeld (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar), who placed seventh overall in 17:50. Karen Rogers (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) was next, taking 15th in 18:02.
Nicole Kuznia (Olivia, Minn./BOLD) and Sara Jurek (Tulsa, Okla./Cascia Hall) were the Wildcats' other scorers. Kuznia was 25th overall in 18:19, while Jurek was 33rd in 18:27.
A total of 12 women ran for Northwestern.
Northwestern will be back in action next Saturday, competing in the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis.
Team Scores
1. Wichita State, 66 points
2. Butler, 76
3. Northwestern, 77
4. Loyola-Chicago, 101
5. Illinois, 101
6. Indiana, 119
7. Illinois State, 204
8. Valparaiso, 263
9. Cincinnati, 271
10. Iowa, 277
11. Northern Iowa, 288
12. Illinois B, 329
13. Bradley, 336
14. Southern Illinois, 351
15. Wisconsin-Green Bay, 455
Top 10 Finishers/Northwestern Scorers
1. Rachel Evjen (17:22)
2. Stacia Beste, Illinois State (17:23)
3. Alana Crisman, Loyola (17:30)
4. Kristyne McGuinn, Loyola (17:38)
5. Jenni Goebel, UIC (17:41)
6. Endija Rezgale, Wichita State (17:49)
7. Diana Hossfeld (17:50)
8. Mandie Brandt, Wichita State (17:53)
9. Becky Obrecht, Indiana (17:54)
10. Lissa Vogley, Butler (17:55)
15. Karen Rogers (18:02)
25. Nicole Kuznia (18:19)
33. Sara Jurek (18:27)
Other Northwestern Runners
54. Nora Colligan (18:49)
62. Maria Badaracco (18:53)
78. Kyna Forkins (19:17)
87. Elizabeth Gibbons (19:35)
97. Nicole Kalogeropoulos (19:48)
99. Caroline Speirs (19:59)
114. Holly Levine (20:24)
