Northwestern coach April Likhite has a simple goal for her team in the first year of her second stint with the Wildcats: climb out of the Big Ten cellar.
With a little less than two weeks to go until the Big Ten championships, NU seems to be on pace to do just that.
The Cats finished in third place out of 17 teams at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill., on Friday, continuing a string of strong performances.
The third-place finish comes two weeks after a sixth-place showing at the adidas Invitational, a meet that featured 27 teams.
The Cats beat Big Ten opponent Ohio State by 11 places and almost 200 points.
The 6-kilometer Bradley Classic course presented the Cats with their first opportunity to race at that distance, the same length as the course for the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
NU put seven runners in the top 50 and had a 1:06 split from the first through seventh runners.
Junior Carly Brown led the way for NU with a time of 21:38, good for 11th place.
Brown has been the Cats' steadiest runner this season, leading the team in four of its six races.
Seniors Marie Grabinski and Celia Franklin finished second and third for the Cats, placing 27th and 30th overall.
Senior Allison King made her first appearance for NU this season, finishing fifth on the team.
King, who was one of the Cats' top runners last season, has missed most of the season while battling an ear ailment that struck her over the summer.
She finished in 40th place with a time of 22:28.
While King isn't in top form, her return is very timely for NU.
NU's next race is the Big Ten Championships on Oct. 28, and King could be a key for the Cats if they want to meet Likhite's goal.
NU has not finished out of the bottom two spots in the conference since 2003.
-Staff reports
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