Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday, October 13
Madison, Wis.
11:30 a.m. CT
Northwestern
at
Pre-NCAA Invitational
Roberts Races to Third Place Finish to Lead ‘Cats at Pre-Nationals
10/13/2018 5:10:00 PM | Women's Cross Country & Track
The Wildcats finished in 15th place overall
MADISON, Wis. – Junior Aubrey Roberts crossed the line in third place at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet in Madison, Wisconsin to lead the Northwestern cross country team to a 15th place finish on Saturday morning on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.
Of the 35 teams present, the 'Cats finished just two places behind Big Ten opponent Ohio State with 414 points. Their average pace throughout as a team on the 6K course was 21:27.
"This meet was competitive with considerable depth," said head coach A'Havahla Haynes. "The team made an intentional push from 4K-6K which moved us from an early team place of 19th up to 15th. We are going to continue to sharpen over the next few weeks and build a strong link between our third, forth and fifth runners."
Roberts crossed the line first for Northwestern, earning a third place finish in a field of 234 runners with a time of 20:10.0. The junior ran her fastest 6K time of the season, shaving 1:04 seconds off her time at the same course in Madison on Sept. 14. She was one of just 37 runners present to break 21 minutes on the day.
Junior Sarah Nicholson crossed the line second for the Wildcats in 21:20.9. First-year Sielle Kearney finished in 21:33.8 and was one of three Northwestern runners to finish in the top 100. Nicholson's time is six seconds faster than her previous best and Kearney also bested her previous fastest time of the 2018 campaign of 22:49.6.
First-year Rachel McCardell and senior Isabel Seidel rounded out the top five scorers for Northwestern, crossing the line in 21:51.8 and 22:16.8, respectively. Seidel shaved 37 seconds off her 6K time at the Badger Classic earlier this season.
"On an individual level, Aubrey Roberts ran a race showing her ability against the best women in the country, which is exciting," Haynes said. "Sarah Nicholson ran tough and is entering a new level of ability. We had strong showings from our first years Sielle Kearney, Rachel McCardell and Hannah Hall in the most competitive and depth filled race of their entire running careers."
Coach Haynes said that she is looking forward to the upcoming Big Ten Championships where the team will revisit its pack running strategy.
Northwestern returns to action when they travel to Lincoln, Neb. to compete in the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 10:45 a.m.
NCAA Pre-Nationals Results (6K)
Cardinal Race:
Aubrey Roberts (3) – 20:10.0
Sarah Nicholson (63) – 21:20.9
Sielle Kearney (83) – 21:33.8
Rachel McCardell (116) – 21:51.8
Isabel Seidel (149) – 22:16.8
Hannah Hall (163) – 22:24.9
Jazmine Reyes (227) – 23:49.0
Of the 35 teams present, the 'Cats finished just two places behind Big Ten opponent Ohio State with 414 points. Their average pace throughout as a team on the 6K course was 21:27.
"This meet was competitive with considerable depth," said head coach A'Havahla Haynes. "The team made an intentional push from 4K-6K which moved us from an early team place of 19th up to 15th. We are going to continue to sharpen over the next few weeks and build a strong link between our third, forth and fifth runners."
Roberts crossed the line first for Northwestern, earning a third place finish in a field of 234 runners with a time of 20:10.0. The junior ran her fastest 6K time of the season, shaving 1:04 seconds off her time at the same course in Madison on Sept. 14. She was one of just 37 runners present to break 21 minutes on the day.
Junior Sarah Nicholson crossed the line second for the Wildcats in 21:20.9. First-year Sielle Kearney finished in 21:33.8 and was one of three Northwestern runners to finish in the top 100. Nicholson's time is six seconds faster than her previous best and Kearney also bested her previous fastest time of the 2018 campaign of 22:49.6.
First-year Rachel McCardell and senior Isabel Seidel rounded out the top five scorers for Northwestern, crossing the line in 21:51.8 and 22:16.8, respectively. Seidel shaved 37 seconds off her 6K time at the Badger Classic earlier this season.
"On an individual level, Aubrey Roberts ran a race showing her ability against the best women in the country, which is exciting," Haynes said. "Sarah Nicholson ran tough and is entering a new level of ability. We had strong showings from our first years Sielle Kearney, Rachel McCardell and Hannah Hall in the most competitive and depth filled race of their entire running careers."
Coach Haynes said that she is looking forward to the upcoming Big Ten Championships where the team will revisit its pack running strategy.
Northwestern returns to action when they travel to Lincoln, Neb. to compete in the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 10:45 a.m.
NCAA Pre-Nationals Results (6K)
Cardinal Race:
Aubrey Roberts (3) – 20:10.0
Sarah Nicholson (63) – 21:20.9
Sielle Kearney (83) – 21:33.8
Rachel McCardell (116) – 21:51.8
Isabel Seidel (149) – 22:16.8
Hannah Hall (163) – 22:24.9
Jazmine Reyes (227) – 23:49.0
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country & Track
/ Women's Cross Country & Track
/ Women's Cross Country & Track
/ Women's Cross Country & Track
/ Women's Cross Country & Track
/ Women's Cross Country & Track
/ Women's Cross Country & Track
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