Women's Cross Country | October 28

OXFORD, Ohio ­– An impressive race by Northern Illinois University's Ashley Tutt earned the Huskie Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-Conference at the MAC Cross Country Championship hosted by Miami University on Saturday.
 
Junior Ericka Hibser (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) earned her second Second-Team All-Conference award, joining Tutt. Hibser finished 12th with a season fastest six-kilometer time of 21:22.2, while Tutt finished her first MAC Championship in thirteenth place and was the first freshman to cross the finish line, doing so in 21:27.4.
 
"Hibser put together a very gutsy performance that we have come to expect of her over the past couple of years, and Tutt did an exceptional job of hanging tight to Hibser for as long as she could." said NIU head coach Adrian Myers. "Ericka led us with a performance that I knew was there. It was just a matter of time for it to work out. I look forward to her regional race in two weeks.
 
"I'm so proud of Ashley because she was able to gain momentum this fall and really trusted the process. Her award was well deserved and well earned."
 
The Huskies fourth-place finish is the second best in program history behind last season's second place finish at the Championship. NIU competed the youngest squad in the MAC with five of the 15 total freshman competing. Tutt and her high school teammate Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) were the first of the freshmen to cross the finish line.
 
"My hat is off to Mackenzie," said Myers. "She didn't have the race that she wanted today, but she has held this program down all season, which is a tall task to take on after such a great team run last fall. She will have an amazing four years here as a Huskie. If just missing All-MAC as a freshman by four spots is her worst day, I'll take it."
 
Callahan took 18th place amongst the 103 competitors for the day with a finishing time of 21:34.4 to fill the Huskies third scoring position. Sophomore Vivian Overbeck (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) followed behind Callahan in the fourth scoring position running her fastest 6k race of the season, coming in at 22:04.4. The final Huskie to score for the team was senior Lorena Martin (Salamanca, Spain/IFS Fray Luis de Leon) as she finished the race at 22:31.0.
 
"This is the most talented team I have ever had the opportunity to coach," said Myers. "We were the fourth best team today in the MAC, and there is nothing we can do about it for 365-days. We aren't done yet with the season and hope to gain some momentum at the NCAA Midwest Regional two-weeks from now in Ames, Iowa. This is a very good team, a championship caliber team, and we will get there. That's something I do know. I have faith in this group that they will respond positively to this experience."
 
The final four to cross the finish line for the Huskies were freshmen Noelle Maire (Belleville, Wis./Belleville [Sugar River]), Sara Atkins (Warrenville, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) and Daly Galloway (Dwight, Ill./Dwight) as well as sophomore Melissa Ricci (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy), respectively.
 
The Huskies will continue their season at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Ames, Iowa on November 10 at 11 a.m. CST.
 
-NIU-