Championship Season Has Arrived
Nov. 1, 2002 EVANSTON, Ill. - Four years of building has come to this. The Northwestern women's cross country team has relied on some familiar names for the last several years -- Rachel Evjen (Eau Claire, Wis./North), Nicole Kuznia (Olivia, Minn./BOLD), Laura Evans (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg) and Karen Rogers (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood). Beginning Sunday, they make one final tour of cross country's "championship" season, with an eye on booking NU's first ticket in the NCAA Championships since the sport was brought back as a varsity sport in 1998. Northwestern qualified for the NCAA's once during its first tenure as a varsity sport (1976-87), in 1985. The Big Ten Championships are the first stop on this ride. The Wildcats will be at Purdue Sunday morning for the 5-kilometer championship race, which will take place at 10:45. Expectations have grown right along with this group of women, and they appear to be meeting those goals at just the right time. In their most recent outing, the 'Cats ran very well at the Pre-National Championship, thrusting the team to its first national ranking since coming back as a varsity at No. 27. Sunday's race will prove to be another great test, though. Four Big Ten teams joined NU in the most recent national poll -- Wisconsin (9), Indiana (18), Michigan State (23) and Michigan (24) -- while another team, Penn State, received votes. However, head coach Amy Tush says that should work in the Wildcats' favor. "I think we're entering this race the same way we entered Pre-Nationals," she said. "There is no pressure on us. But we have been practicing very well the last few weeks, and we're ready to run well on Sunday." The national ranking was cause for celebration when it came out on October 21, but with the championship season coming up Tush is more sober in her analysis. "The national ranking doesn't necessarily mean a lot, not at this time of year," she said. "However, what was more important to me was the team I saw come out of Pre-Nationals -- it was a completely different team than I had seen in my first year and a half here. So we've got some momentum going into this race." Tush also acknowledged her top runners may be intent on making a lasting impression in their final go-round. "Rachel is definitely motivated to try and earn first-team All-Big Ten again this season," she said. "I think Laura and Nicole are also looking to break into the All-Big Ten Teams, but it won't be easy -- you need to be in the top 14 for conference honors. You start realizing six teams are ranked, basically, and so they're strong from their first runner through their fifth runner. The numbers add up quickly -- most of the All-Big Ten runners this year will be All-America candidates later this season."
2002 Big Ten Cross Country Championships Information
Directions to the Purdue Varsity Cross Country Course:
NU Runners Travelling to Big Ten Championships
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