Oct. 1, 2005

EVANSTON, Ill.--Northwestern's cross country team placed 10th today at the Sean Earl Invitational at Montrose Beach, hosted by Loyola University in Chicago. Freshman Hilary Forman (Prairie Village, Kan./Pembroke) was the highest place finisher for the Wildcats, finishing 43rd with a time of 18:41.

Marquette won the event with a team score of 54, followed by Grand Valley State (63), Missouri State (170), Ball State (195), Guelth (216), Loyola-Chicago (247), Illinois State (263), Western Michigan (276), Southern Indiana (295) and Northwestern (300).

"Overall I was disappointed with our performance today," head coach Amy Tush said. "Hopefully we will be better in a couple of weeks. This was the third week in a row that we have competed and I think with school starting and everything else that we were a little tired and beat up. We just need to get some rest and hopefully we can peak at the right time."

Sophomore Celia Franklin (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) finished second among Northwestern runners (57th overall) with a time of 18:52. She was followed closely by Allison King (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) who was 63rd overall with a final time of 18:56.

The Wildcats will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., the site of the 2005 NCAA Championships in November.

For complete results visit www.loyolaramblers.com.

Northwestern Top Finishers:
1. Hilary Forman (43rd - 18:41)
2. Celia Franklin (57th - 18:52)
3. Allison King (63rd - 18:56)
4. Marie Grabinski (81st - 19:11)
5. Megan Young (T-83rd - 19:13)
6. Mallory O'Niel (T-83rd - 19:13)
7. Carly Brown (99th - 19:27)