STILLWATER, Okla. -- Junior Ashley Tutt (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) of the Northern Illinois University women's cross country team earned an automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday morning (Nov. 15) at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course.

As a team, NIU earned a ninth-place finish, tying the best mark in school history. Tutt becomes just the second Huskie to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships, joining Hope Schmelzle who took third at the 2016 NCAA Midwest Regional to punch her ticket to the national championship race. 

"I knew today was going to be a dogfight from about six through nine in the team race and it could shake out in a lot of different ways," said NIU head coach Adrian Myers. "This is the first time in a few years our region has had as much national prominence, which is good for all of us, but it also makes it that much more difficult to crack the top-five. 

"For us to finish ninth, and very close to a top-seven, is something we are happy with. The resiliency of our team really showed in that we could be a little bit off and still have a strong showing. I am proud of our program and how we competed today. This is a performance that we can build upon to become a top-five regional program and look at qualifying for the national championships down the road."

Tutt ran with the lead group right from the start of the race and was in the top-five at both the 2K and 4K splits before crossing the line in 20:35.9 to earn fourth place and an automatic spot at the NCAA Championships. 

"Ashley ran exactly (the race) we talked about, turning it into a pure guts and heart race on the backside of the course," said Myers. "This is arguably one of the tougher courses I have ever seen as a coach, which is right up Ashley's alley, the more difficult the course, the more she enjoys the process. 

"There were portions of the race where Ashley led, pushing the pace to keep it honest, and that is what we talked about, making moves and committing to them. She ran a great race, she got outkicked at the finish but still finished in a position to automatically qualify for the national championships." 

Senior Ericka Hibser (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) was the second Huskie to finish, claiming 40th with a time of 21:43.0.

Junior Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) had a finishing time of 22:05.3 to take 61st and senior Vivian Overbeck (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) was just six seconds behind in 71st (22:11.4). Junior Meagan Biddle (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) was the fifth scoring Huskie with a time of 22:37.8, making up 15 spots over the final two kilometers to finish 105th. 

The NCAA Championship will take place on Saturday, November 23, on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind., 


Team Standings (Top 10 Only)
1. Illinois, 108
2. Tulsa, 123
3. Minnesota, 130
4. Oklahoma State, 159
5. Missouri, 172
6. Iowa State, 192
7. Loyola-Chicago, 237
8. Wichita State, 240
9. NIU, 277
10. Iowa, 283

Individual Standings (Top 10 Only)
1. Cailie Logue (Iowa State), 20:20.6
2. Taylor Somers (Oklahoma State), 20:28.0
3. Winny Koskei (Wichita State), 20:34.8
4. Ashley Tutt (NIU), 20:35.9
5. Caitlin Klopfer (Tulsa), 20:37.4
6. Molly Born (Oklahoma State), 20:41.7
7. Kelby Anderson (North Dakota State), 20:43.2
8. Abby Ripperda (South Dakota), 20:52.3
9. Anastasia Korzenowski (Minnesota), 20:56.3
10. Anna Donnay (South Dakota State), 20:57.0

NIU Individual Finishes
4. Ashley Tutt, 20:35.9
40. Ericka Hibser, 21:43.0
61. Mackenzie Callahan, 22:05.3
71. Vivian Overbeck, 22:11.4 
105. Meagan Biddle, 22:37.8
106. Hannah Ricci, 22:38.9
130. Brooke Lytle, 22:59.5