Northwestern
NCAA Championships
Roberts Earns All-American Honors at NCAA Championships
11/17/2018 4:50:00 PM | Women's Cross Country & Track
Junior Aubrey Roberts became the first XC All-American in school history
MADISON, Wis. – Junior Aubrey Roberts became the first cross country All-American in school history with an 18th place finish at the NCAA Championships on Saturday morning at the Thomas Zimmer Championships Course.
The Eau Claire, Wisconsin, native finished the 6K race in 20:13.5 in a field of 253 of the nation's most elite runners. Today marked Roberts' third-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship meet. As a freshman, Roberts finished the race in Terra Haute, Ind. in 20:31.3, earning 50th in the nation. During her sophomore campaign, Roberts posted a 20:25.07 time and finished in 63rd place in a field of 255 runners.
"Aubrey ran a perfect race in not perfect conditions to become an All-American," head coach 'AHavahla Haynes said. "She has had the goal to be All-American from her first day at Northwestern and today proved when you focus on the race and not on the result you can achieve your goals. As coaches we are incredibly happy for her!"
Roberts concludes a season in which she was the first Wildcat to cross the finish line in every race. She was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career for her performance at NCAA Pre-Nationals (10/13) in Madison, Wisconsin where she finished in third place overall in the 6K at 20:10.0, shaving 1:04 seconds off her previous season-best time at the Badger Classic (9/14). She was one of just 37 runners to break 21 minutes at the meet and is the first Northwestern runner to win a weekly Big Ten award since Elena Barham in 2013.
The junior would go on to cross the line in second place at 19:58.4 in the 6K race at the Big Ten Championships (10/28) in Lincoln, Nebraska, earning First Team All-Big Ten Honors for the second time in her career. Her second-place finish was the highest ever for a Wildcat at the Big Ten Championships.
The NCAA Championships race brought the 2018 cross country season to an end for the Wildcats, one that showed promising growth among all of its members.
"While Aubrey has been a tremendous leader on and off the course she has been backed by strong driven teammates," Haynes said. "The program's progression is exhilarating as we had first years step up into high level competition and take the highs and lows with maturity all the while wanting to make improvements. As we move forward there is an understanding that we only get better together and we only rise as others rise with."
With the cross country season behind them, the Wildcats will look forward to competing in track events for the rest of the 2018-2019 year.
Players Mentioned
