STILLWATER, Okla. -- Emma Planck (Downington, Pa./Downington West) led the way for the Northern Illinois University cross country team as the Huskies wrapped up their season on Friday, Nov. 10, at the NCAA Midwest Regional on the Greiner Family Course at Oklahoma State University. 

Planck finished with a time of 22:54.6 to finish inside the top-150 in the highly competitive field that featured many of the top teams in the country. 

"I'm happy with the effort from the four runners that raced today," said NIU head coach Juan Carrillo. "They raced to where their fitness is, so I was happy to see that. They were tough, they pushed when they needed to push, Joy (Jackson) did a great job of passing a lot of people during the race. Overall, I'm happy. We didn't have a team score, but next year we will have a goal to bring five or seven to get a team score, but it was a good effort."

Host Oklahoma State, who came into the meet ranked fifth nationally, won the team title with a score of 30, Billah Jepkirui of Oklahoma State won the individual title with a time of 20:28.4.

Three other Huskies competed in the meet, with all three finishing in the top-175. Katelyn Robbins (Liberty, Ill./Liberty) was the second Huskie to finish, running a time of 23:24.2. Joy Jackson (North Aurora, Ill./Benet Academy) was the third NIU runner across the line, recording a time of 23:31.2 while moving up 40 spots from the initial kilometer of the race. Julia Finegan (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) posted a time of 23:32.7.

NIU's distance runners will now turn their attention to indoor track season, which will begin at the Notre Dame Blue and Gold Invitational on Dec. 1.  

"We started to build a culture," said Carrillo of his first season. "We want to get back to being a contender at the MAC and a team that brings seven people to regionals every year. I think that mindset has changed, we just need to continue to bring people in that believe in that vision. It takes time but I'm confident we will get there; we just have to be patient."

NIU Individuals
136. Emma Planck, 22:54.6
163. Katelyn Robbins, 23:24.2
168. Joy Jackson, 23:31.2
171. Julia Finegan, 23:32.7

Team Scores (Top 5)
1. Oklahoma State, 30
2. Iowa State, 75
3. Northwestern, 155
4. Minnesota, 184
5. Kansas State, 241