Sept. 26, 2009
Final Stats
ST. PAUL, Minn. -
Courtney Oldenburg led the Northern Illinois women's cross country team for the fourth-consecutive week Saturday, finishing first for the Huskies at the Roy Griak Invitational in St. Paul, Minn.. The Huskies placed 16th, out of 18 teams, at the invite.
Finishing the six-kilometer race in a time of 23:32, Oldenburg (West Salem, Wis./West Salem) finished first for Huskies, placing 44th overall at the Griak Invitational. Nancy Nieto (Elgin, Ill./Streamwood/Missouri State) followed closely behind with a time of 23:45, finishing 53rd at the invite.
"Courtney and Nancy have been real consistent in their racing," assistant coach Mark McConeghey said. "Our third and fourth-place runners have run very good some weeks, but they are inconsistent. I would like to see them improve in their consistency from week to week."
Sunsea Shaw (South Bend, Ind./Riley High School), Breanna Brevitt (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) and Amanda Trancoso (Rock Falls, Ill./Newman Catholic) rounded out the top-five finishers for the Huskies. Shaw ran the 6k race in a time of 25:17, while Brevitt finished the race in a time of 25:22. Trancoso clocked in with a time of 25:44, placing fifth for the Huskies.
McConeghey feels there is need for improvement before the team enters Mid-American Conference play.
"The girls have been having strong work outs, but when it comes to the meets I don't think they can handle it mentally," said McConeghey. "We have a few weeks left of practice, and hopefully we can breakthrough this mental block before we face the MAC Championships."
NIU will take three weeks off from competition before they travel to West Salem, Wis. to compete in the Tom Neubauer Invitational, Oct. 17. The invite will be the final competition before the Huskies head to the MAC Championships, Nov. 1 in Athens, Ohio.
