On the bright side, three runners achieved All-Region honors.
This past Saturday, the Northwestern Women’s Cross Country team competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional in Peoria, Illinois. In a field of 33 teams, the ‘Cats were able to come in third place just behind Oklahoma State and Minnesota. Runners Ava Earl, Chloe Wellings, and Ava Criniti all secured All-Region distinctions, finishing in the top 25.
However, the Wildcats fell just short of advancing to the NCAA Championships. To qualify for the season’s final meet, the team needed either a runner to finish in the top four individually, or to come in first or second to qualify automatically. Northwestern also did not receive an at-large bid to round out the 31-team field.
Nevertheless, the Wildcats still achieved great success by many measures in Peoria. Earl, a senior from Girdwood, Alaska, paced the team with a speedy time of 20:03.73 to come in eighth place. Remarkably, it was the second year in a row Earl took home eighth at regionals, and the third consecutive season she collected All-Region accolades.
Wellings was not far behind her teammate, clocking in under a second after Earl at 20:04.31 to come in ninth. The graduate runner left it all on the track in her final race, posting a personal best time in the 6K. It also marked the England native’s first time receiving the All-Region nod. The Wildcats were the only team besides first-place Oklahoma State to have two runners finish in the top 10.
Criniti, a red-shirt freshman, rounded out the impressive Northwestern trio, coming in 25th place with a time of 20:30.47. Not far behind her were Katherine Hessler and Holly Smith, who finished with times of 20:35.97 and 20:36.88, respectively. Similar to Earl and Wellings, the pair finished back-to-back, coming in 30th and 31st place for Northwestern. Sophomore Jackie Holman placed 47th in her first career regional appearance, and Maddy Whitman came in 78th to finish a stellar day for the ‘Cats.
While the Wildcats are surely disappointed in missing out on nationals, the team has plenty to be proud of. Northwestern finished the season strong, earning a top-three result in three of its final four races — including a victory at the Bradley Pink Classic in October. The program will likely say goodbye to its top two runners in Earl and Wellings next season, but has a rising star in Criniti to fill their shoes. It was definitely a disappointing close to the season to see the ‘Cats fall short of the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row, but the program is in good hands (and good shoes) for years to come.