Sept. 1, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern is on the cusp of beginning the 2011 season Friday at Valparaiso's Crusader Open, kicking off the eighth campaign under the direction of head coach April Likhite. Likhite returns one of the most experienced squads of her tenure as she welcomes back 22 letterwinners, including all seven who competed for NU at last year's NCAA Regional Championship meet.
Northwestern will contest Friday's season-opener at Valparaiso against five other regional opponents: Marquette, Notre Dame, Trinity, Valparaiso and Western Michigan. The women's 5K race is scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT start at Sunset Hills Park in Valparaiso. A race-time decision could be made on whether to shorten the distance due to extremely high heat and humidity in the forecast.
After taking 11th place at the NCAA Regional meet last November, Northwestern checks in at No. 10 in the preseason USTFCCA Regional rankings, fourth among Big Ten programs in its region. Of the teams NU will be seeing at Valparaiso, Notre Dame is the only school with a higher preseason ranking, coming in at No. 6 in the Great Lakes Region.
Leading the way among the returners is 2010 NCAA Championships qualifier Audrey Huth, the school-record holder in the 6K (20:35.8). Following a cross country season in which Huth led the Wildcats in five of the six meets in which she competed, Huth continued to improve during Northwestern's outdoor spring schedule. Huth placed sixth in the 5K at the prestigious Drake Relays with her time of 16:50.63.
Huth is supported this year by a group of upperclassmen that boasts plenty of championship race experience, headlined by Sophie Ewald, Abby Tracy and Hallie Busta, with Rachel Kaminski and Rachel Edwards also making a push last spring into the lead pack.
The 2010 freshman class recruited by Likhite wasted no time making an impact on raceday for the Wildcats. Then-freshmen Michelle Moriset and Lexie Goldsmith finished second and third, respectively, among NU runners at last year's NCAA Regional meet and figure to be among the frontrunners once again. Moriset and Goldsmith each put in substantial work in the offseason, joining Huth at the U.S. Cross Country Championships in San Diego last February.
Likhite added four newcomers to the roster this season, including freshmen Maddie Elkins, Elizabeth Fierro and Kayleen McMonigal. They are joined also by Northwestern senior Sheila O'Neill, a three-year letterwinner on NU's women's swimming team now trying her hand at cross country.
Following Friday's Crusader Open, Northwestern will begin preparations for the Huskie Open hosted by Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 10.
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