Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Sets Personal Bests at DePaul D-I Invite
4/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track
April 18, 2011
DePaul D-I Invite -- Complete Results
CHICAGO -- Northwestern continued to make the most of its spring track schedule this weekend, achieving a handful of career personal bests for the second meet in a row at the DePaul D-I Invite on Saturday. NU claimed three first-place finishes on the day, topping the field in the 800 and 1,500-meter races as well as the 3K steeplechase.
Facing a field that included competitors from DePaul, Loyola, Marquette and UIC, Northwestern's Rachel Kaminski sprinted to first in both the 800 (2:15.08) and 1,500 (4:35). Both times marked career-bests for the NU junior.
Junior Hallie Busta (4:54.15) and freshman Libby Kocha (4:55.86) took eighth and ninth, respectively, in the 1,500-meter race.
For the second week in a row, sophomore Allegra Mayer ran past her competitors to finish first in the 3K steeplechase, besting her previous personal record by eight seconds with a time of 11:01.00.
Sophomore Lauren Neuschel ran to a second-place showing in the 5K, setting a personal-best and giving NU another sub-18-minute 5K performer with her time of 17:56.88. Freshman Ann Powers (18:30.07) took fifth in the event while Ashley Greenwell (19:06.64) and Charlotte ter Haar (19:48.74) placed ninth and 12th, respectively.
"It's just been exciting to have some of our girls race lifetime personal bests three weekends in a row," said head coach April Likhite. "It speaks volumes for a program like ours that doesn't follow a typical track racing schedule."
Also this weekend, Northwestern's Moira Ryan and Nicole Oliver were among those competing in the 10K (6.2-mile) race at the Dave Rankin Invitational hosted by Purdue. Both ran strong races in their first-ever times competing at that distance, with Ryan taking second in 37:40.63 and Oliver crossing in third at 37:58.04.
"Our hope was to have as many people reach qualifying times for the Drake Relays next weekend and three individuals did just that," Likhite said. "We're excited to continue working hard through our last few competitions of the spring."
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