Northwestern finished third with 123 points at Friday’s Lakefront Invitational at Loyola Chicago, earning its first invitational podium of the season. Virginia won with 71 points; Minnesota finished 11 points ahead, and all five Northwestern scorers placed in the top 40.
Ava Criniti led Northwestern in ninth with a season-best 19:42, followed by Cary Drake in 16th (19:49), Skye Ellis in 23rd (19:58), Jackie Holman in 35th (20:09) and Eliza Nicholson in 40th (20:12). Nicholson started the first kilometer in 70th place; the Wildcats edged fourth-place Vanderbilt by 27 points.
Northwestern’s next meet is the Oct. 9 Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, after two weeks off. The field will include 33 other teams, among them No. 2 New Mexico and No. 4 Iowa State.
