DeKALB – NIU cross country kicks off its new season at home Friday with the NIU Huskie Opener.
The Huskies’ meet on Friday will be the first home meet for the cross country team since the 2022 season opener. Head coach Juan Carrillo expressed excitement towards Friday’s meet, his first home meet as head coach.
“It feels great to be able to host,” Carrillo said. “I was trying to host this event last year, but by the time I got the job and reached out to other coaches, they already had commitments made for the season. This year I was able to bring teams like Northwestern, Western Illinois, Depaul and McHenry, so there will be about five or six D-I schools.”
This year’s cross country team consists of 10 athletes, three upperclassmen, three graduate students and four underclassmen, including three freshmen.
Carrillo believes that the amount of upperclassmen can help the team compete this year, but will also help condition and put the team in a better spot for next season and beyond.
“After this year, once all the seniors are gone, we are going to have a pretty young team,” Carrillo said. “But it definitely helps a lot when you have a lot of experienced athletes that these younger athletes can learn from.”
Along with the Huskies’ new freshman class, Carrillo brought in two graduate students from the transfer portal, graduate Camille Jackson from the University of New Mexico and Bailey Wilk from the University of St. Francis.
Wilk is a former member of the national champion St. Francis cross country team in 2020. Wilk was also an All-Conference runner last season taking fifth place at the 2023 Chicagoland Girls Cross Country Championship, running a 23:10.96 for her 6k race.
“Bailey Wilk, based on the training that I’ve seen in the two weeks, looks like she will be one of our front runners,” Carrillo said. “She was part of a team that were national champions, so she brings a lot of experience competing at those high levels, whether it’s at Division 1 or NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), competing at a national level.”
The Huskies are also returning two senior athletes, Emma Vorpagel and Joy Jackson.
Vorpagel capped off her outdoor track season with a personal best time in the 800-meter run at the MAC Championships in DeKalb, posting a time of 2:09.38.
“Emma Vorpagel, she’s coming back from a great outdoor season where she ran a huge personal record in the 800 (meter),” Carrillo said. “So now she brings that experience to cross country as a senior.”
Carrillo also spoke about sophomore Morgan Gioia’s jump from not making the team’s regional roster last season, to now possibly being the number two or three runner on the team.
“A year ago, Morgan didn’t make our regional championship roster, and this year she looks to be our number two or three runner,” Carrillo said. “So to see that much improvement and to see how she looks in workouts and the way she runs, I can tell she has been working through the summer on a lot of different things to make her a more efficient runner.”
The Huskies cross country team will begin its season at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the North 40 course in DeKalb. Live stats can be found via Lakeshore Athletic Services.
