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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star
The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Cross country finishes season at NCAA Midwest Regionals

NIU cross country freshman Claire Helmila passes the 3k mark while competing in the Huskie Classic on Sept. 5. Helmila was one of three Huskies who raced in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday. (Northern Star file photo)
By Joseph Segreti, Sports Reporter
Nov 17, 2025

Rounding out its season, NIU cross country sent three athletes to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Friday. 

Freshman Amelie Ojeda finished every race this season for NIU as its top finisher and was no different at regionals, leading the Huskies with an 84th-place finish. 

Ojeda ran a 22:13.4 in the 6k and finished just one hundredth of a second ahead of Eastern Illinois University’s junior Brenda Torres. 

Freshman Claire Helmila was the only other Huskie to finish the race, coming in 192nd place with a time of 23:39.2. 

Freshman Ariel Hernandez also competed in Friday morning’s 6k race, but did not complete the race. 

Hernandez dropped out of the race just short of the 5000-meter mark at 4886 meters with a time of 19:04.5 when her race ended

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About the Contributor
Joseph Segreti
Joseph Segreti, Former Sports Reporter
Joseph “Joey” Segreti is from Roselle, Illinois, and is majoring in journalism with a minor in sports journalism. He previously served as Senior Sports Reporter and primarily covered NIU’s baseball and track and field teams. After college, Joey aspires to be a broadcaster for Cleveland area sports.
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