CHICAGO – Junior Ashley Tutt (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) earned individual honors and the Northern Illinois University cross country team won the team title in the Women's Maroon Race at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Saturday morning (Sept. 28).

"We are definitely excited," said NIU head coach Adrian Myers. "Winning feels good at all times and we are definitely excited. Our race execution was good, we talked about what each person needed to do and some specific things we wanted to work on, and the follow-through was really good. That is something we are trying to work on every single week, continuing to learn how to win and piecing that together."

Facing rainy, muddy and windy conditions near the Lake Michigan shoreline, Tutt was first across the line in the five-kilometer race, earning her third consecutive win to start the season, with a time of 17:26.76. Tutt's victory helped the Huskies score 60 points, just edging host Loyola who finished with 62, as NIU won its third team title in three meets this season.

"Ashley is putting herself in a position where she is very hard to beat," said Myers. "She has worked really hard for this, she has put her focus on doing what she needs to do for the team and sometimes that means taking some risks and going for it, so hats off to her for being consistent in everything up to this point. She also has a good support group in Mackenzie Callahan, Ericka Hibser and Vivian Overbeck who have been equally consistent doing their jobs.

"Everyone has played their role, especially Ashley holding down that number one spot. Winning races is not easy, as a team or as an individual. You have to hope that everything in your body and in your mind is at full-go, and if it's off there is no hiding it. To be this consistent and to string this much success together in a row is pretty hard to do."

Three Huskies finished in the top-10 as junior Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) and senior Ericka Hibser (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) joined Tutt. Callahan earned fifth-place in a time of 17:47.38, posting her third top-five of the season, while Hibser finished 10th with a time of 18:18.05, marking the third time in three races that the Huskie senior has finishing inside the top 10.

Also finishing in the scoring positions for the Huskies were senior Vivian Overbeck (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) who was 20th overall in a time of 18:18.05 and sophomore Hannah Ricci (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) who took 27th overall, posting a time of 18:29.47

Next up for the Huskies will be the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill., on Friday, October 18.

Maroon Race Team Standings
1. NIU, 60
2. Loyola Chicago, 62
3. Wisconsin, 84
4. Oakland, 126
5. Marquette, 143
6. Western Ontario, 162
7. Milwaukee, 181
8. Central Michigan, 245
9. McMaster, 271
10. DePaul, 272
11. St. Francis (Ill.), 330
12. SIU Edwardsville, 332
13. UIC, 372
14. Northwestern, 374
15. Huntington, 393

NIU Maroon Race Individual Finishes
1. Ashley Tutt, 17:26.76
5. Mackenzie Callahan, 17:47.38
10. Ericka Hibser, 18:01.80
20. Vivian Overbeck, 18:18.05
27. Hannah Ricci, 18:29.47
39. Melissa Ricci, 18:51.70
55. Sara Atkins, 19:05.27
72. Brooke Lytle, 19:15.77
98. Kaitlin Miller, 19:35.22
114. Meagan Biddle, 19:48.21

NIU Gold Race Individual Finishes
10. Mercer Mack, 19:20.38
15. Nora Finegan, 19:29.81
60. Maggie Cavanaugh, 20:14.50
92. Brynn Bartlett, 20:56.11
142. Sarah Virgo, 21:59.86