PEORIA, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University cross country team finished the regular season portion of its 2022 slate on Friday afternoon (Oct. 14) at the Bradley Pink Classic at the Newman Golf Course. Brooke Valentine (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West) led the way for the Huskies with a top-20 finish as NIU claimed 12th in the White Race. 

"I thought we ran pretty well, had a pretty solid race," said NIU head coach Jamie Moreno. "We still have four women that are our right now and we are hoping to get at least two of them back in two weeks for the MAC (Championship). We ran with the six that we have healthy. I thought Brooke (Valentine) had her best race of the season. A couple of her other races this season she has been pretty good through the first two-thirds but hasn't been able to finish and today she finished really strong over the last mile or so. 

"She started somewhere around 35th and moved up the whole race, it was her best race of the year. Joy Jackson was similar, steady and consistent with her race, she continues to get stronger, and I was pleased with her as well."

Valentine posted a time of 22:49.7 to pace the Huskies, finishing 18th overall. Joy Jackson (North Aurora, Ill./Benet Academy) took 41st in the 190-runner field, recording a time of 23:35.4.

Emma Vorpagel (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) and Julia Finegan (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) finished just four spots apart with Vorpagel sneaking into the top-100 with a time of 25:11.6, Finegan had a time of 25:22.9. Olivia Southby (New South Wales, Australia/Washburn) and Sarah McLaughlin (Rockford, Ill./Guilford) were separated by just four seconds as Southby ran 27:09.2 and McLaughlin finished in 27:13.1. 

NIU will now turn its attention toward the Mid-American Conference Championship meet in Athens, Ohio on Saturday, Oct. 29.  

"Going into the season our goal was to improve on last year," said Moreno. "We want to go to the MAC meet and run better than we did last year, take a step forward and build on that for years to come, but we definitely want to improve on our place from last year."


Team Standings
1. Grand Valley State, 24
2. Loyola Chicago, 82
3. South Dakota State, 124
4. Milwaukee, 137
5. Oakland, 148
12. NIU, 311

NIU Individuals
18. Brooke Valentine, 22:49.7
41. Joy Jackson, 23:35.4
100. Emma Vorpagel, 25:11.6
104. Julia Finegan, 25:22.9
145. Olivia Southby, 27:09.2
148. Sarah McLaughlin, 27:13.1