DeKALB — With only one returner from the 2024 season, NIU cross country’s almost brand new roster prepares for their debut on Friday, in which they will run the first race of the new season.
Bringing in five freshmen and two transfers, sophomore Varri Higgins is the lone Huskie left from the 2024 squad.
“We’re going to be young, but we’re going to be talented,” said NIU cross country head coach Juan Carrillo at NIU Athletics fall media day.
Moving west from Purdue University, graduate student Sarah Maggio joins the Huskies after spending the last three seasons as a Boilermaker. An Aurora native, Maggio ran a personal best 21:22.5 in the 6K at the Big Ten Championship last season.
Transferring to NIU from the University of Oklahoma, junior Grace Hanson is expected to be one of the Huskies’ key runners in the 2025 season.
“Her 6k PR (personal record) will be top-14 any year in the MAC,” Carrillo said about the newcomer.
Hanson holds a 21:03.7 personal record in the 6k, which beats the fastest time for a Huskie in the 2024 MAC championship race by almost two minutes.
Leading the way for the freshman is Amelie Ojeda, who starts her collegiate career after a fifth place finish in the Illinois High School Association cross country championship. Holding PRs of 16:40.6 in the three mile race and 17:53 in the 5K, Ojeda could be a contender for MAC freshman of the year.
“I think she’s someone who can be freshman of the year for cross country, just based on the data of the last couple years of the freshman of the year,” Carrillo said. “When you compare those times to Amelie’s (Ojeda), she’s at that level or even better.”
In addition to Ojeda, freshmen Liliana Camargo, Isabella Grieder, Claire Helmila and Ariel Hernandez round out the roster for the Huskies.
The Huskies start their season on Friday against the Fighting Illini Open in Savoy, before coming back to DeKalb on Sept. 5 to host the Huskie Classic.
After a short break from competition, NIU will participate in the Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 26, hosted by the University of Missouri, before rounding out the regular season on Oct. 17 at the Bradley Pink Classic. The MAC Championship kicks off Nov. 1 in Amherst, New York, representing the final time the NIU runners will race as a member of the conference.
“We’ve been working pretty hard to improve the culture and set high expectations and new standards,” Carrillo said. “This year, we have the right people coming in. The right runners who are competitive and work hard, and who bought into the vision that we have with this program, which is to bring NIU cross country back to the top.”
