‘Cats Secure 11th-Place Finish In Loaded Field At Nuttycombe Invitational

MADISON, Wis. (October 9, 2026) – Competing against 16 fellow ranked foes, No. 22 Northwestern cross country surged to an 11^th-place finish this morning at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wis.

The Wildcats closed the women’s “A” race with a team total of 408 points, finishing nine points clear of No. 11 Stanford (12^th; 417 points).  In total, Northwestern defeated six ranked opponents and finished in front of seven Big Ten Conference rivals.

No. 9 West Virginia (66 points) claimed the team title, while Florida’s Judy Chepkoech ran 19:19.5 to claim individual medalist honors.

Skye Ellis spearheaded the Wildcat attack on a mild morning at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.  The Jan Juc, Australia native took 45 seconds off her time from last year’s edition of the Nuttycombe Invitational, crossing in 20:14.7 to finish 46^th overall.

Fresh off a top-10 showing at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational, Ava Criniti posted a time of 20:29.7 that saw her take 66^th.  Seven seconds back of her was Katie Clute, who placed 74^th in her first appearance as a Wildcat, finishing in 20:36.6.

The duo of Cary Drake and Jackie Holman rounded out the Wildcat top five in the morning’s opening race.  Drake checked in at 20:42.6 (86^th), while Holman came through in 21:06.7 (136^th).

Competing in the women’s “B” race to close the day, Ella Goodsell and Isabel Mahoney crossed within three seconds of one another.  Looking to build on a third-place showing in the open race at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational, Goodsell led Northwestern’s contingent, running 21:33.6 to finish 32^nd.  Mahoney was hot on her heels, claiming 33^rd at 21:36.4.

Northwestern returns to Wisconsin’s state capital on Friday, October 30, when it will open postseason competition at the Big Ten Conference Championships.