BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Despite multiple lightning delays, a select group of the Northwestern women's cross-country team rewrote the all-time top 10 list with several breakthrough performances at the Big Ten Invite #2 at the University of Indiana on Friday night.
After the first set of lightning strikes delayed the competition by an hour, first year Emily Casaclang kicked off the meet with a dominant win in section 1 of the 1500 meters. Casaclang positioned herself on the shoulders of the lead runner until the bell lap when she bolted to the front and put significant distance on the rest of the competition in Bloomington, Indiana. Casaclang reached the finish line unchallenged in 4:35.42, more than two seconds ahead of the closest runner. In the process, she improved on her previous season's best by 11 seconds and jumped to No. 9 on the Northwestern all-time list.
In section 3, senior Clare Severe dropped 10 seconds on her previous season's best to finish seventh overall in the 1500 meters. Her time of 4:25.70 is No. 2 on the all-time list.
In the 5,000 meters, first year Katherine Hessler finished 13th, completing the race in 17:38.
After the 5,000 meters, a third lightning strike caused another meet delay, pushing the 10,000 meters to an 11:20 p.m. start. But the unexpected storm only added excitement to sophomore Kalea Bartolotto's impressive debut in the 10,000 meters.
With pacing assistance from Severe—who returned to lead her teammate through the first 3,000 meters of the race—Bartolotto controlled the pace of the chase group, which closed the gap on the leaders with each kilometer. With a 78-second last 400 meters, Bartolotto kicked towards the finish line, completing her first 10,000 meters in 34:58 for fourth place overall.
In the process, she became the third-fastest 10,000-meter runner in school history. She also beat Big Ten rivals Alexa Westley of Wisconsin and Jaycie Thomsen of Minnesota who finished 12th and 17th, respectively, at the 2021 Big Ten Cross-Country Championships in January.
The 'Cats' next competition will be the Big Ten Relays in Champaign, Illinois on April 23-24.
After the first set of lightning strikes delayed the competition by an hour, first year Emily Casaclang kicked off the meet with a dominant win in section 1 of the 1500 meters. Casaclang positioned herself on the shoulders of the lead runner until the bell lap when she bolted to the front and put significant distance on the rest of the competition in Bloomington, Indiana. Casaclang reached the finish line unchallenged in 4:35.42, more than two seconds ahead of the closest runner. In the process, she improved on her previous season's best by 11 seconds and jumped to No. 9 on the Northwestern all-time list.
In section 3, senior Clare Severe dropped 10 seconds on her previous season's best to finish seventh overall in the 1500 meters. Her time of 4:25.70 is No. 2 on the all-time list.
In the 5,000 meters, first year Katherine Hessler finished 13th, completing the race in 17:38.
After the 5,000 meters, a third lightning strike caused another meet delay, pushing the 10,000 meters to an 11:20 p.m. start. But the unexpected storm only added excitement to sophomore Kalea Bartolotto's impressive debut in the 10,000 meters.
With pacing assistance from Severe—who returned to lead her teammate through the first 3,000 meters of the race—Bartolotto controlled the pace of the chase group, which closed the gap on the leaders with each kilometer. With a 78-second last 400 meters, Bartolotto kicked towards the finish line, completing her first 10,000 meters in 34:58 for fourth place overall.
In the process, she became the third-fastest 10,000-meter runner in school history. She also beat Big Ten rivals Alexa Westley of Wisconsin and Jaycie Thomsen of Minnesota who finished 12th and 17th, respectively, at the 2021 Big Ten Cross-Country Championships in January.
The 'Cats' next competition will be the Big Ten Relays in Champaign, Illinois on April 23-24.