The junior began the outdoor session of Northwestern’s season the only way she could — smashing another program record.
The birds are chirping, the grass is visible, and the trees are just starting to bud again. That’s right, it’s almost time for spring, and with spring comes outdoor sporting events. The same is true for Northwestern cross country, which fully “sprung” into its outdoor schedule in East Lansing on Friday. The Spartan Invitational was mostly smaller Michigan schools, but the Wildcats did get to battle with Big Ten rivals Michigan and Michigan State.
And Northwestern showed up ready for battle. Sophomore Kailey Zagst opened the day with a time of 17:56.32 in the 5000 meter run. Zagst’s first ever college try at the 5k was a mightily successful one — she took eighth place, and was only 30 seconds off the podium. Zagst was buoyed by a brilliant middle of the race, as she finished five straight 400-meter stretches (from the 600 meter mark to the 2600 meter mark) in under 1:25. She also ran the final 400 meters in a blistering 1:26.85, ensuring that no other competitor would challenge her as she crossed the line.
Whitney Currie joined her Wildcat teammate in the top 10, with a time of 18:08.96 getting Currie across the tape in 10th place. The senior had a slower middle of the race than Zagst did, but made up for it by running her final 800 meters in under three minutes. Currie was also only 1.3 seconds away from surpassing Mercedes Sarver for ninth place. Deepti Choudhury also made her season debut for Northwestern in East Lansing, and kept a very consistent pace for most of the race. She did slow a bit in the final 1000 meters, but was able to recover enough to challenge for a top-20 spot. As it stands, the senior had to settle for a mark of 19:12.79 and 21st place, a great time for someone in their first meet of the season.
Later in the day, the Wildcats found a ridiculous amount of success in the 1500 meter run. Anna Hightower got off to a great start, then just kept on putting pedal to the metal. She gobbled up the final 400 meters of the race in just 1:12.04, allowing her to hold off any challengers and also make a charge for the podium. Hightower wound up finishing fourth, but a time of 4:29.66 (less than two seconds off her personal best, set in 2023) and a top five finish has to feel pretty good for the senior.
Of course, the runner leaving this weekend feeling the best is (surprise, surprise) Skye Ellis. The native of Jan Juc, Australia got an early start on the outdoor season when she crushed the Raleigh Relays back on March 28. In a race that saw 179 finishers, Ellis was able to navigate the traffic and finish with a time of 16:32.88. Sure, the time was only good for 66th (Hightower also competed in the same event, and finished 86th with a time of 16:43.39), but in the Northwestern record books, Ellis’ run is the eighth-fastest of all time.
So how’d she follow up one-record setting run? With a record-DESTROYING run. From the moment the starter’s gun went off in East Lansing for the 1500 meter run, it was clear Ellis was out to conquer all comers. She slid into the lead before the first lap was even over thanks to a scorching time of 53.71 for her first 300 meters. After that, it was all about holding off the competition. Ellis seemed like she might have been in some trouble entering the race’s final 400 meters, as she was only two-tenths of a second ahead of Bowling Green’s Kylee Cubbison. But instead of fading, Ellis kicked into high gear, and ran the final 400 meters of the event in just 1:08.58. The blazing speed at the crucial juncture allowed Ellis to defeat Cubbison (the race runner-up) by almost two full seconds.
The accolades Ellis walked off the track with could almost fill an article by themselves. She won the race, obviously, with a brilliant time of 4:23.78. That time is also the best in Northwestern history — by a wide margin, at that. And the individual victory is Ellis’ fourth since January, meaning that she’s averaging over a victory per month (read that again). And as the cherry on top, Ellis is currently nationally ranked in the 1500 meter. Her time in East Lansing is the 93rd best run by an individual this year, and the 18th best time by any sophomore.
There will likely be a lot more victories to come for Ellis, and a lot more speedy running for the rest of the Wildcats, but Northwestern fans will have to wait just a little bit too see it. The wait will be worth it, though — the Wildcats’ next meet is the renowned Penn Relays. Northwestern will take to the track in Philadelphia on Thursday, April 24. After the dust settles in Pennsylvania, we’ll have all the updates and record watches right here.