By Adam Hensley
All teams in the Big Ten have their eyes set on Oct. 30 — the date of the conference championships in Minneapolis. The top teams seem to be primed for success, but anything can happen when the stakes are raised. Here’s where the Big Ten womens teams sit:
Michigan — Coming in as the highest nationally ranked Big Ten team, the Wolverines jumped from 13th to sixth in the latest poll. Michigan has finished second in two of the last three conference championships and is poised to win its first trophy since 2011. Senior Erin Finn won the Pre-National meet Oct. 15, leading the team to an impressive third-place finish.
Penn State — The Nittany Lions cranked out the top three spots in their Penn State Open on Oct. 14. Sophomore Tessa Barrett and juniors Elizabeth Chikotas and Jillian Hunsberger finished first, second, and third. Penn State scored a meet-best 47 points, half of what second-place Mississippi (No. 16 in the country) scored. Head coach John Gondak’s squad is the defending Big Ten Champion — this team knows how to perform in championship conditions.
Michigan State — Since 2010, the Spartans have won four Big Ten Championships (their most recent coming in 2014). Michigan State comes into the conference championship ranked 27th in the country, but don’t let that ranking fool you into thinking the team doesn’t have a shot against its in-state rival. In Pre-Nationals, seniors Alexis Wiersma (12) and Shelby Jackson (58) finished in the top 60.
Minnesota — Led by two freshmen, Minnesota jumped ahead of Michigan State at the Pre-National meet. Twins Megan and Bethany Hasz finished 28th and 42nd. Come time for the Big Ten meet, it will be interesting to see how the duo fare in a conference dominated by upperclassmen.
Indiana — Indiana ranks just behind Michigan State in the Great Lakes Region rankings; however, for the past few weeks, Hoosier fans have sent in votes to put them among the nation’s top-30 teams. Indiana (15th) finished in the top half of teams at Pre-Nationals with top Hoosier Katherine Receveur placing 11th. Watch for Indiana to sneak up into the top-three teams at the Big Ten meet.
Wisconsin — At the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, the Badgers placed 21st — nothing to brag about. The team failed to place a runner in the top-60 (Michele Lee was the best at 64th). Wisconsin has a history of winning conference championships but hasn’t won since 2000; its women’s team isn’t as loaded as those in the past.
Purdue — The Boilermakers are a typical middle-of-the-pack team. They have the potential to make some noise, but they don’t do it on a consistent basis. At Purdue’s last meet, the Illini Open, sophomore Rachel Bales finished 12th in the 6,000-meters. Juniors Anna Dolce and Sarah Tyler rounded out the top-20.
Maryland — Maryland has put together a decent season with two first-place finishes, an 18th-place outing, and a third-place meet recently. Alexandra Lucki claimed sixth place in the Terrapins’ previous meet, the Princeton Invitational.
Ohio State — The only reason the Buckeyes are ranked ahead of the Hawkeyes is because of head-to-head competition. Ohio State finished 10th at Griak and 20th at Pre-Nationals (both places better than Iowa’s). Griak was impressive: all but two runners finished better than 100.
Iowa — The Hawkeyes are another team that could sneak up and make some noise at the Big Tens. Led by senior Tess Wilberding, the Hawkeyes started off the season with three top-two places in four meets. Recently, however, Iowa hasn’t lived up to expectations, and it finished 24th and 38th at the Bradley Classic and Pre-Nationals. The team was split up for both meets, though, so the Big Ten Championships could tell a different story.
Illinois — The Illini’s best meet of the season occurred in Iowa City. Illinois won the Regional Preview, scoring four top-10 places en route to 50 points. They competed against the Hawkeyes in the meet, but Iowa rested Madison Waymire, one of the program’s top runners, for that meet.
Nebraska — Nebraska put together a surprisingly successful effort at Pre-Nationals, finishing 17th in the White Division (most top teams competed in the Blue Division). Katrina Santiago will try to lead the Huskers in the conference championship; at Pre-Nationals, she finished 51st.
Northwestern — In the Wildcat’s toughest competition (Pre-Nationals) this season to date, they placed 39th out of 42 teams. Aside from Aubrey Roberts, who placed 42nd, Northwestern failed to land a runner in the top 120.
Rutgers — Rutgers hasn’t competed since Oct. 7 at the Metropolitan Championships, where it placed third. The Scarlet Knights have a ways to go before competing for a conference title.