Oct. 17, 2008

Individual Resultsin PDF Format

Team Results in PDF Format

PEORIA, Ill. - Sophomore Sunsea Shaw finished first among Northern Illinois runners, Friday, as the Huskie cross country team placed 14th at the Bradley Cross Country Classic.

Shaw (South Bend, Ind./Riley) placed 35th with a time of 22:51, less than one-and-a-half minutes behind race winner Caedryn Schrunk of the University of Northern Iowa.

"We ran much better," cross country coach Mark McConeghey said. "There's still a lot of room for improvement, and we're confident we will continue to get better."

After Shaw, the Huskies packed tight, with Denisse Valladares (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Hersey), Breanna Brevitt (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) and Ashley Rittenbacher (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) finishing one after the other, in 69th-71st places. Valladares and Brevitt ran the six-kilometer race in 23:43, while Rittenbacher finished just three seconds behind. Also close by was senior Meghan Ginter (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley), who placed 75th with a time of 24:02.

Iowa State took first place as a team with 51 points. Northern Illinois totaled 344 team points, and finished ahead of Green Bay.

"We managed to beat UW-Green Bay, who we didn't beat at our home meet," McConeghey said. "We're on the right track, and with focus and dedication, we'll continue the upward trend."

Huskie finishers who did not score include freshman Jessica Troike (Tuscola, Ill./Tuscola), who took 97th with a time of 25:16, Jackie Sciacero (Sterling, Ill./Sterling/Sauk Valley C.C.), who was one place behind with a 25:18. Senior Alli Grissom (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North/Ball State) ran a 25:30 and Brittany Sasek (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) finish in 25:41

Northern Illinois continues the season at the Mid-American Conference Championships, Saturday, Nov. 1 in Ypsilanti, Mich.