Northwestern
NCAA Championships
Wildcats Finish 30th at NCAA Championships
11/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Nov. 25, 2002
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Northwestern women's cross country team entered Monday's NCAA Cross Country Championship race ranked 30th in the latest national poll, and that is exactly where the Wildcats finished in the 31-team race.
NU -- which is the first team in history to run in the NCAA meet despite not having a track program -- was able to finish ahead of Washington.
Brigham Young took the women's title, defeating Stanford. North Carolina's Shalane Flanagan finished the course in 19:36.0 to take individual honors.
"It was great to finish ahead of Washington, because they were a team that beat us at Pre-Nationals here a few weeks back and we wanted to get them," said head coach Amy Tush. "It was interesting to see how the scoring went, though, because we had our first five in ahead of several teams, and even had our first seven in ahead of some teams. They were just able to get fewer overall points than us."
As she has for each of the last three years, senior Rachel Evjen (Eau Claire, Wis./North) led the 'Cats across the finish line. She finished 67th overall with a time of 21:11, nearly six seconds ahead of her time on this course at Pre-National meet on Oct. 19.
Senior Laura Evans (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg), one of four Wildcat seniors running her final race for NU, was next across the line. She placed 128th overall in 21:45. Sophomore Diana Hossfeld (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar) was right on Evans' heels, taking 130th in 21:46.
Senior Nicole Kuznia (Olivia, Minn./BOLD) was 167th in 22:06, and junior Emily Blakeslee (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) was 169th in 22:09 to close out NU's scorers.
Senior Karen Rogers (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) and sophomore Kyna Forkins (Glen Ellyn, Ill/Glenbard West) also ran for the Wildcats. Rogers was 185th in 22:17 while Forkins was 196th in 22:35.
In all, six of NU's seven runners improved on their time from the Oct. 19 Pre-National Race on this course.
"We ran well," said Tush. "The women really laid it out on the line, especially at the beginning of the race -- but you have to do that to compete in this race. I was very pleased with our performance."
Regardless of the outcome, Tush admitted it was an experience none of the women will soon forget.
"We made the most of the opportunity to be here," she said. "The team had a great time at the banquet Sunday, and of course our tradition bowling game the night before was a lot of fun. We had a great experience."
Click here for complete results from today's NCAA Cross Country Championships.
NU Runners at the NCAA Championships
67. Rachel Evjen, 21:11.6
128. Laura Evans, 21:45.9
130. Diana Hossfeld, 21:46.1
167. Nicole Kuznia, 22:06.8
169. Emily Blakeslee, 22:09.0
185. Karen Rogers, 22:17.7
196. Kyna Forkins, 22:35.1
