NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Lorena Martin won the North Central Cardinal Open on Thursday afternoon in Naperville as some members of the Northern Illinois University women’s cross country team competed in the event to help prepare for next weekend’s NCAA Midwest Regionals.

Martin (Salamanca, Spain/IFS Fray Luis de Leon) completed the three-mile course in 17:35.20, finishing 12 seconds ahead of the pack of 77 runners from seven teams and running at a 5:51.8/mile pace. The freshman became the first Huskie to win a race this season.

As a team, NIU took second place in the event behind only Washington University (St. Louis), with Carly Pederson (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community), Hannah Savage (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) and Taylor Perkins (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) also earning top-15 individual finishes.

The first two All-MAC Huskies in school history – freshman Kelsey Hildreth (Byron, Ill./Byron) and senior Meghan Heuer (St. Charles, Ill./Kansas State) – didn’t race on Thursday but will be ready for regionals.

NIU will compete against the area’s top teams and individuals on Friday when the Huskies travel to Peoria, Ill. for the NCAA Midwest Regionals. The race is set to start at 12 p.m.

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