Nov. 8, 2007

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After breaking out of the Big Ten cellar, Northwestern seeks to continue its improvement and return to its earlier form this decade and finish among the top 10 teams at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Saturday in Peoria, Ill.

Under April Likhite's (then April Ecke) direction, NU claimed Regional finishes of 12th, sixth and fourth from 1998-00, and then seventh, second and seventh under Amy Tush from 2001-03. Since then, the 'Cats have yet to place higher than 14th.

"We are really looking forward to racing this weekend. We did enough reflecting on Big Tens and quickly refocused on the regional championships," Likhite said. "Workouts have been great and it's a good feeling going into the final race of the season with seven healthy bodies. They've worked extremely hard all season, now it's time for that hard work to pay off."

With the coach back at the helm though, the team has resembled the Wildcats of Likhite's first stint, placing in the top five in multiple races this year and even beating out Ohio State and placing just eight points behind Indiana for ninth.

This weekend's 6k race is the Wildcats second of the year and also its second race at Bradley University as it ran in the Bradley Classic, where it finished third place on Oct. 12.

Northwestern can qualify for the NCAA Championships as a team or individually with a top finish in the race, which is on Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.