The birds are chirping, the grass is visible, and the trees are just starting to bud again. That’s right, it’s almost time for spring, and with spring comes outdoor sporting events. The same is true for Northwestern cross country, which fully “sprung” into its outdoor schedule in East Lansing on Friday. The Spartan Invitational was mostly smaller Michigan schools, but the Wildcats did get to battle with Big Ten rivals Michigan and Michigan State.
And Northwestern showed up ready for battle. Sophomore Kailey Zagst opened the day with a time of 17:56.32 in the 5000 meter run. Zagst’s first ever college try at the 5k was a mightily successful one — she took eighth place, and was only 30 seconds off the podium. Zagst was buoyed by a brilliant middle of the race, as she finished five straight 400-meter stretches (from the 600 meter mark to the 2600 meter mark) in under 1:25. She also ran the final 400 meters in a blistering 1:26.85, ensuring that no other competitor would challenge her as she crossed the line.
Whitney Currie joined her Wildcat teammate in the top 10, with a time of 18:08.96 getting Currie across the tape in 10th place. The senior had a slower middle of the race than Zagst did, but made up for it by running her final 800 meters in under three minutes. Currie was also only 1.3 seconds away from surpassing Mercedes Sarver for ninth place. Deepti Choudhury also made her season debut for Northwestern in East Lansing, and kept a very consistent pace for most of the race. She did slow a bit in the final 1000 meters, but was able to recover enough to challenge for a top-20 spot. As it stands, the senior had to settle for a mark of 19:12.79 and 21st place, a great time for someone in their first meet of the season…