Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Pre-NCAA Invitational
‘Cats Head to Madison for Pre-Nationals
10/11/2018 3:11:00 PM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Northwestern travels back to Madison to run its second 6K of the season
EVANSTON, Ill, - After a two week break, the Northwestern women's cross country team is set to run in the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin at 10:00 am. on Saturday, Oct. 13.
The Wildcats will be racing in their fourth meet of the season as they head back to Madison to compete on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course for the second time this season. The 'Cats also ran in the Badger Classic on Sept. 14, where they finished in second place.
The women will run against 34 other teams in the Cardinal race. Among those teams, 10 are nationally ranked, according to the USTFCCCA Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll. Colorado, Oregon, Arkansas and BYU are ranked in the top 10. The 'Cats will also be facing off against Big Ten opponents, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Indiana.
"We are looking forward to Pre-Nationals," said head coach 'AHavahla Haynes. "The women have had a solid six weeks of training and we are excited to put in hard race efforts to prepare for the Big Ten Championships two weeks after."
Last year at the Pre-Nationals meet in Louisville, Kentucky, the Wildcats finished in 19th place in a field of 43 teams. Junior Aubrey Roberts crossed the line first for Northwestern with the 34th best time.
The 'Cats will be running their second 6K of the season. In their first 6K of the 2018 campaign, which was also run at Wisconsin, Roberts led the team with a second place overall finish and a time of 21:14.1. Junior Sarah Nicholson, junior Kelly O'Brien, first-year Sielle Kearney and senior Isabel Seidel also finished in the top 10.
"As the season builds, we look to Aubrey and Sarah look to take charge again as our 1-2 and we continually are focusing on having our 3,4 and 5 runners close the gap," Haynes explained. "We intend to show up and place in the top half of the incredibly deep field with the likes of Oregon, NC State and Portland."
The last time Northwestern raced at the end of September, they finished in sixth place out of 19 teams at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. Together, the Wildcats raced to three personal best times in South Bend. They are looking for more strong performances at Pre-Nationals on Saturday.
The meet can be watched live on flotrack.org.
