The women’s cross-country team will have a resurgence of youth in 2013.

Head coach Gregg Hipp, who is entering his third season, is liking what he is seeing from the team.

“The ladies look pretty good, and look very fit. You can tell they took advantage of their time this summer,” Hipp said. “We have more depth this year compared to past seasons. A lot of the girls had a great summer of running, and this is now the third year under my team philosophy and training. I feel great things in store for this season.”

The 2013 roster features seven freshmen, a younger team than in past seasons, so Hipp will need to rely on their youth to help get them through the year.

“We are really young this year, the youngest we have been during my time here at NIU,” Hipp said. “But we have some good young talent. I feel we will be depending on them a lot. I cannot wait to get the season underway and see how our training translates onto the course.”

NIU is looking for a new No. 1 runner due to the fact it lost Courtney Oldenburg to graduation. She was NIU’s top runner all four years she attended the university and finished her career with the school records in the 5K and 6K.

Juniors Meghan Heuer, Juliane Totzke and Jamie Burr are possible big contributors from last year’s roster who may have a big impact on how well the team performs this season.

Hipp has seen progress with his runners since he took the head coaching position in 2011.

“The girls’ times have gradually improved each year,” Hipp said. “I love what I have seen from them year in and year out.”

NIU has eight meets this season, two at home, with four in-state meets. The Huskies start the season off with the fifth annual NIU Open held Sept. 6 in DeKalb. NIU won the six-team two-mile meet last season. The Huskies follow that up with a trip down to Illinois State University a week later for the Redbird Invitational.

Postseason competition begins on Nov. 2 with the Conference Championships at Bowling Green University.