Northwestern
Big Ten Championships
Wildcats Place Seventh at Big Ten Championships
11/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Nov. 3, 2002
Big Ten Women's Championship Results in PDF Format
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Heading into Sunday's Big Ten Championships meet at Purdue, Northwestern women's cross country coach Amy Tush felt the 27th-ranked Wildcats could finish anywhere from third place to seventh.
Unfortunately, she was correct -- the 'Cats finished seventh, a bit of a disappointment considering the recent surge this team has been on.
"This conference is very, very strong," said Tush, who appeared far more philosophical than frustrated following the race. "Finishing seventh is nothing to be ashamed of -- I think all but one team ahead of us is ranked like we are.
"We will come out of this a stronger team," she said. "This is obviously an important meet, but it does nothing for us in terms of our next meet (the NCAA Midwest Regional on November 16). That meet alone is the difference between whether or not we get to the NCAA meet."
In a tight race that saw four teams finish with less than 100 points, Michigan -- ranked 24th in the latest national poll -- eked out the team title, scoring 70 points to narrowly defeat its cross-state rival, No. 23 Michigan State (73). No. 18 Indiana was third with 81 points, while Penn State was fourth with 94. Wisconsin, the highest-ranked team entering the race (9), was fifth with 107 points. Minnesota scored 123 points and finished nine points ahead of NU, which was nearly 100 points ahead of eighth-place Purdue.
Michigan State did bring home some hardware, however, as Michelle Carson won the individual title in 17:24.0. She finished more than 10 seconds ahead of teammate Jamie Krzyminski.
Rachel Evjen (Eau Claire, Wis./North) earned the third All-Big Ten honor of her career, finishing ninth individually for second-team honors. Evjen was also a second-team honoree as a sophomore and earned first-team honors last season.
Diana Hossfeld (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar) and Karen Rogers (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) were next across the finish line. Hossfeld was 27th in 18:20.0, while Rogers was right on her heels in 28th at 18:20.6.
"I was really pleased with how Karen ran today," said Tush. "She really stepped up, and I think that's one of the characteristics of a solid team -- you have a number of people who can produce results. We just needed more people to follow her lead today."
Laura Evans (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg), a second-team All-Big Ten runner in 2000 who missed last year with an injury, was 32nd this season in 18:25.4. Emily Blakeslee (Rockford, Mich./Rockford), who also missed last year to injury, was NU's final scorer (36th in 18:27.2).
As mentioned above, the Wildcats are off until the NCAA Midwest Regional, which will be run at Illinois State on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Team Scores
1. Michigan, 70 points
2. Michigan State, 73
3. Indiana, 81
4. Penn State, 94
5. Wisconsin, 107
6. Minnesota, 123
7. Northwestern, 132
8. Purdue, 228
9. Illinois, 255
10. Ohio State, 295
11. Iowa, 333
NU Runners at Big Tens
9. Rachel Evjen, 17:51.9
27. Diana Hossfeld, 18:20.0
28. Karen Rogers, 18:20.6
32. Laura Evans, 18:25.4
36. Emily Blakeslee, 18:27.2
44. Nicole Kuznia, 18:37.9
50. Kyna Forkins, 18:54.2
55. Kalysta Harmon, 18:56.9
79. Nora Colligan, 19:34.4
