Crague Guides PNW Women to Fifth-Place Finish at USF Twilight Invite
Channahon, Ill. – Freshman Jennifer Crague (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) impressed in her first collegiate meet guiding the Purdue Northwest women’s cross country team to a fifth-place finish Friday night at the USF Twilight Invite in Channahon, Ill. The Pride finished the meet with 128 team points in their first competition of the 2017 season. The newcomers started the season in great shape with two more freshmen finishing as the next two PNW finishers in Friday’s 5K (5,000 meters) race.
Freshman Allison Tokarz (Wheatfield, Ind./Kankakee Valley) took 23rd overall for the Pride with a time of 20:17, while freshman teammate Lucy Appelman (Portage, Ind./Portage) was right behind her in 24th place at 20:24. Senior Shyla Huppenthal (Boulder, Colo./Northglenn) was the next Purdue Northwest runner to cross the finish line with a time of 21:08 for 28th place overall.
Completing the scoring for PNW Friday was junior Sara Kubas (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew) in 34th place overall at 21:30. The race was made up of 89 runners. Tokarz, Huppenthal and Kubas all logged career-best times in Friday’s meet.
University of Chicago won the meet with a team score of 36 points. Trinity Christian College’s top runner, Megan DeWeerd, won the Twilight Invite’s individual title with a time of 17:34.
The Pride host the PNW Cross Country Classic on Friday, September 8, at their course in Westville, Ind. The women’s race is scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT start.