Ostenso Races Away From 5,000m Field At Gladstein Invitational

1/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country & Track

Game Photo

Jan. 24, 2015

EVANSTON, Ill. -- On a day when five Wildcats established personal records, sophomore Andrea Ostenso earned the first win of her collegiate indoor track career with a convincing victory in the 5,000m race at the 2015 Gladstein Invitational on Friday in Bloomington, Ind. Ostenso paced the field with a 16:51:25 time in her first competitive action since earning NCAA All-Region honors in November.

On top of Ostenso's victory by nearly a minute, several Northwestern runners posted terrific times on the campus of Indiana University. In the 3,000m Invitational event, sophomore Jena Pianin finished just behind the eventual winner, wrapping up a second-place finish with a time of 9:34:70. In the 3,000m event, Isabel Seidel finished fourth, while teammate Renee Wellman (10:20:26) finished tenth, Megan O'Brien (10:27:72) finished 14th, and Allison Jacobsen (10:32:71) finished 17th.

Northwestern had just one entrant in the One-Mile-Invitational, and Rachel Weathered crossed the finish line in seventh with a time of 5:01:04. Helping pace Ostenso in the 5,000m event were teammates Elena Barham (17:48:36) in third, Ellen Schmitz (18:10:76) in 11th, and Mallory Abel (18:24:75) in 14th against a competitive field.

This weekend's event was just the beginning of the most exciting indoor & outdoor track schedules in Wildcats history. In two weeks Northwestern will join many of the top programs from around the country at the annual Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Feb. 6-7.

The 'Cats are also slated for a trip to the Grand Valley State Invite (Feb. 13-14) before a final weekend of indoor competition with representatives at both Notre Dame's Alex Wilson Invite and the Margaret Bradley Invitational in Chicago on Feb. 22. Following spring break, Northwestern will begin the outdoor season at the Alabama Relays on Friday and Saturday, March 20-21. From there, the 'Cats will set their sights on a West Coast trip to both the prestigious Stanford Invitational and the San Francisco Distance Carnival hosted at San Francisco State's Cox Stadium. Last year, the event attracted nearly 1,300 runners from more than 150 schools around the country.

The 'Cats also will make trips to the Illini Twilight and Chicagoland D-I Invitational meets before competing at the prestigious Drake Relays April 23-25 in Des Moines. Northwestern is then slated to complete the spring at the Dr. Keeler Invite in Naperville May 7-8.

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