BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Katelyn Robbins (Liberty, Ill./Liberty) led the way for the Northern Illinois University women's cross country team at Bowling Green's Mel Brodt Collegiate Open on Friday evening (Sept. 15). Robbins ran a time of 22:57.8 on the six-kilometer course as the Huskies earned a ninth-place team finish. 

Central Michigan's Emily Paupore won the individual title with a time of 20:49.7 while Toledo captured the team crown with 50 points, 10 ahead of second-place Ohio. 

"We just needed to be aggressive based on the plan that we had originally on how to race the course," said NIU head coach Juan Carrillo. "We were fine in mile one, we just weren't aggressive enough after that. We also missed Emma Planck, who started the race but is coming back from injury, so we didn't have her run the whole distance. It was a good trip to see the course and we will come back in six weeks and look to do better."

The meet was the first of two trips to Bowling Green's Mel Brodt Cross Country Course this season for the Huskies, as they will return on Oct. 28 for the Mid-American Conference Championship. Eight schools in the MAC participated in the event to get a look at the course where they will run the conference championship next month. 

Robbins was trailed by less than five seconds by Julia Finegan (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) who recorded a time of 23:02.5. Joy Jackson (North Aurora, Ill./Benet Academy) was the third-place Huskie with a time of 23:37.1. 

NIU will return to action on Friday, Sept. 29, when the Huskies travel to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invite. 

Team Scores
1. Toledo, 50
2. Ohio, 60
3. Eastern Michigan, 62
4. Central Michigan, 109
5. Bowling Green, 126
6. Western Michigan, 143
7. Ball State, 153
8. Saginaw Valley State, 169
9. NIU, 273
10. St. Clair College, 325

NIU Individuals
52. Katelyn Robbins, 22:57.8
55. Julia Finegan, 23:02.5
69. Joy Jackson, 23:37.1
94. Morgan Gioia, 25:09.6
95. Carly Leonard, 25:35.0
98. Lydia Bauer, 25:38.5