The Ava Earl show continues its record-breaking run.
After a brilliant weekend to close out March, it seemed very difficult that Northwestern cross country would be able to match their output from the Raleigh Relays and Redbird Challenge after a two-week hiatus. After all, those two meets saw five different Wildcats post personal bests, including Ava Earl setting a new program record in the 5,000m run with a blistering time of 15:46.51. The weekend also saw Kalea Bartolotto come within four tenths of the second of the program record in the 10,000m, as she ran a scorching 33:52.71.
But while all those times and results are impressive enough, the Wildcats somehow did even better at the Gary Wieneke Memorial in Champaign, Ill. The two full weeks back in the Land of Lincoln clearly helped the squad, which put up blistering times across the board.
Earl obviously led the way in that department, setting yet another program record. After winning her heat in the 1,500m by over 15 seconds with a 4:25 on the dot, Earl got ready for a final run that she was clearly going to dominate. And dominate she did, putting forth a time of 4:24.05 to win the event by over 12 seconds. The junior’s tear through Demirjian Park was good enough to top Kelly O’Brien’s program record in the event by over four tenths of a second.
And Earl wasn’t the only Wildcat on the podium. Senior Emily Casaclang finished third with a brilliant time of 4:36.33, less than two seconds off her personal best. Her fellow seniors, Rachel Sessa and Adele Magaud, also competed in the 1,500m, finishing ninth and twelfth, respectively.
But Northwestern wasn’t done crowding the podium. Sophomore Skye Ellis won her heat in the 800m, then put forth a ridiculous 2:14.38 in the final run. That spring was good enough for third in the event and second all-time in program history. Ellis’ fellow underclassman, first year Maddy Powers, also put up a time good enough for a top-10 mark in program history. Powers won her heat as well, then slapped up a 2:20.01 in the final, the seventh-best time in Wildcat history.
As for the 5,000m run, Northwestern dominated everything but the winners’ circle. Earl was unable to finish the event (although her heat time of 15:46.54 suggests she could have ran away with the event and also re-broken her own program record had she finished), but her teammates picked up the slack.
The foremost Wildcat from that bunch was Pippa Nuttall, who broke her previous best in the 5,000m run by 26 seconds. Her time of 16:51.31 earned a runner-up finish, and while it wasn’t enough to beat Illinois’ Avril Andre, there was a lot of purple immediately following the Illini freshman. After Nuttall, the next finishers were Bartolotto, Maddy Whitman, Fiona Lenth, Ava Criniti, Katherine Hessler and Jackie Holman.
If you’re counting at home, that means you’ve gathered that the Wildcats produced seven of the top eight in the 5,000m run — without their best runner. Bartolotto also broke 17 minutes with a time of 16:58.42, and Whitman was close behind her with a time of 17:03.43. As for the rest of the pack, the best day was Criniti’s, as the freshman’s time of 17:15.36 was the best outdoor showing of her collegiate career thus far.
As records and bests both personal and program-wide continue to fall, the Wildcats look to continue tearing through the outdoor section of their schedule. Northwestern’s next event is the famed Penn Relays, which will take place in Philadelphia from April 25 to April 27.