Sept. 13, 2007

DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois women's cross country team travels to Bloomington, Ill. to compete in the Illinois Intercollegiate, Friday at 5 p.m.

Northern will face tough in-state opposition at the meet, including Illinois and Illinois State, ranked first and 15th respectively in the Great Lakes Region.

"When you have the No. 1 and No. 15 teams there, it's a big step up in the level of competition," head cross country coach Mark McConeghey said. "I've told our athletes just to run their own race, don't worry about the other teams, and let the chips fall where they're going to fall."

The Huskies are coming off a fifth-place finish at the Bradley Invitational, where the team was led by junior Meghan Ginter, who completed the 5k course in just under 19 minutes.

McConeghey said he is excited about the prospects of fielding a healthier team this week than in the team's last race, and believes the season-opener at Bradley helped to reinvigorate his team.

"We practiced a little better this week than last," he said. "I think they're happy to be competing, and the success we had last week helps motivate us."

Northern Illinois' results from the Illinois Intercollegiate will be posted here at www.niuhuskies.com. For complete results from the race, visit www.adkinstrak.com.