TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Junior Ashley Tutt (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) finished 17th as the Northern Illinois University cross country team took on an elite field at the Under Armour Pre Nationals on Saturday (Oct. 19) at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Tutt led the way as the Huskies posted a 27th-place team finish, highest among all Mid-American Conference teams in the field.

Tutt ran a time of 20:34.2 on the six-kilometer course, which will host the NCAA Division I Championships in November, and was just seven seconds outside the top-10. BYU's Erica Birk won the individual title in a time of 20:02.6 while Washington claimed the team title with four runners in the top-25.

Junior Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) was the second Huskie across the line, moving through the field picking up 16 spots over the final two kilometers while posting a time of 21:20.1; Callahan finished 84th overall.

Senior Ericka Hibser (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) was NIU's third finisher, posting a time of 22:03.6 to finish inside the top 200. Senior Vivian Overbeck (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) was also in the top 200, just six seconds behind Hibser (22:09.8), Overbeck moved up six places over the final two kilometers.

The Huskies final team score of 664 was just one point behind Loyola-Chicago (663), but bettered each of the other three MAC schools in the field: Toledo (31st, 745), Eastern Michigan (33rd, 823) and Miami (35th, 833). NIU also bettered Georgia (28th, 679) and Virginia (29th, 711), who are both top-10 ranked in their respective regions.

NIU will now turn its attention to the Mid-American Conference Championship, hosted by the Huskies on the North 40 Course on campus in DeKalb, on Saturday, November 2.

NIU Individual Finishes
17. Ashley Tutt, 20:34.2
84. Mackenzie Callahan, 21:20.1
171. Ericka Hibser, 22:03.6
181. Vivian Overbeck, 22:09.8
216. Hannah Ricci, 22:36.7
224. Melissa Ricci, 22:42.2
230. Sara Atkins, 22:46.4

Team Standings
1. Washington, 84
2. BYU, 87
3. Colorado, 126
4. Michigan, 164
5. Florida State, 204
6. Illinois, 268
7. Virginia Tech, 292
8. Butler, 306
9. Boston College, 358
10. Ole Miss, 376
11. Oklahoma State, 380
12. Boise State, 383
13. Yale, 412
14. Duke, 444
15. Vanderbilt, 494
16. North Carolina, 502
17. Wichita State, 525
18. Kentucky, 532
19. Alabama, 534
20. Cornell, 567
21. California, 573
22. Liberty, 579
23. UC Davis, 585
24. Iowa, 597
25. Weber State, 610
26. Loyola-Chicago, 663
27. NIU, 664
28. Georgia, 679
29. Virginia, 711
30. Lipscomb, 730
31. Toledo, 745
32. Xavier, 758
33. Eastern Michigan, 823
34. Montana State, 830
35. Miami (Ohio), 833
36. Kansas, 933
37. Arkansas State, 966