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2005 Women's Cross Country Big Ten Championships Coverage
Oct. 30, 2005
Despite rainy conditions, the Big Ten Cross Country Championships came down to the final stretch of the 6,000-meter course at the Les Bolstad Golf Course hosted by the University of Minnesota. In the race to the finish, Illinois junior Cassie Hunt broke away from the pack to claim her first individual title with a race time of exactly 21 minutes. Three-time defending Conference champion Michigan Wolverines, one of five of the conference's top-30 teams, won their fourth-straight title with three top-10 finishers. While Hunt claimed the individual championship, the Illini took second behind Michigan's outstanding point total of 42. The Wolverines claimed their fourth straight team title, a string that ranks second in championships history for consecutive titles won.Sophomore Alyson Kohlmeier paced the Wolverines, crossing the finish line second with a time of 21:02.74. Kohlmeier, who finished seventh at the meet last year, also earned All-Big Ten honors. Sophomore Erin Webster joined her on the All-Big Ten Team with a seventh-place finish at 21:22.04. Nicole Edwards was close behind, finishing eighth at 21:24.79. Wolverine senior Rebecca Walter, who won the individual title in 2003, came back from an early season injury to take eleventh place overall with a time of 21:32.79. Paced by Hunt, the Illini took second with 60 points. Also finishing in the top five for the Illini, junior Stephanie Simms crossed the finish line at 21:11.84 for fourth place. Freshman Katie Engel also earned All-Conference honors, placing 13th for a spot on the second team with a 21:37.19-finish. The host Minnesota surged to third in the team standings with three finishers in the top six. Junior Emily Brown paced the Gophers and solidified a third-place finish of her own at 21:11.74. Senior Lauren Williams edged sophomore Ladia Albertson-Junkans at the finish line by les than half a second, taking fifth by at time of 21:12.99. Albertson-Junkans earned sixth with a finish of 21:13.19. Indiana finished fourth with 128 points, climbing one spot from their fifth-place finish in 2004. The Hoosiers placed two on the All-Big Ten Second Team with juniors Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf finishing ninth and 10th respectively. Gall, who was the second runner-up in 2004, crossed the line at 21:30.14. Last year's co-runner-up, Michigan State fell three spots in the team standings, taking fifth on the heels of three top-30 individual finishers and 145 points. Caitlin Kelly led the Spartans with a 20th place finish for a time of 21:53.59. Wisconsin jumped two spots and earned sixth with 146 points. Junior Katrina Rundhaug paced the Badgers at 21:39.74, just missing an All-League Team spot at 15th. Iowa double its seventh-place performance from last year, again earning 170 points. The Hawkeyes were paced by 16th-place finisher Meghan Armstrong who turned in a time of 21:43.74. The eighth-place team was Purdue, which moved up a spot with its 180-point showing. Senior Lindsay Zinn closed out her last Big Ten Championships race with a surge for 12th and All-Big Ten Second Team honors, crossing the line at 21:33.54. Ohio State finished ninth with 257 points, led by top-25 performer junior Nicole Gliem, and Penn State finished 10th. Northwestern rounds out the team standings with a total of 294 points.
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