Despite showing improvement from last week’s meet, the NIU cross country team managed to finish just seventh in the Elmhurst Early Bird Invitational at Bradley.

Junior Meghan Ginter was the only player for the Huskies to crack the top 20 out of 74 runners in the event. Indiana State finished the meet in first place.

Coach Mark McConeghey said he still is optimistic.

“We really ran well,” McConeghey said. “Our one through five were much closer than last week and that’s a good sign. We’ve done this without intervals, so we’re going to peak at the right time.”

NIU will get another chance to show its improvement Sept. 22 when they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., to participate in the Western Michigan Invitational.

Rich Harvest Intercollegiate

Day one of the NIU men’s golf team’s trip to the Rich Harvest Farms Intercollegiate in Sugar Grove was postponed due to darkness.

On day two, the Huskies tried to redeem themselves after a 12th place performance. Despite the effort, the Huskies finished the day in 12th, with a two-round score of 631 Saturday.

NIU sophomore Zach Jecklin scored a 230 (+14), putting him in the top 20 for the Huskies. Louisville came in first place. The Huskies are back in action this weekend for the Wolverine Intercollegiate.

Hawkeyes Intercollegiate

The NIU women’s golf team opened its season this weekend in Iowa for the Hawkeyes Intercollegiate.

The Huskies finished day one of the tournament in sixth place. The next day wasn’t much better.

The red and black finished the tournament in sixth place with a 54-hole score of 1010. Iowa came in first.

NIU coach Pam Tyska said she was not impressed by her team’s performance.

“[Saturday’s round] was pretty much a disaster for us,” Tyska said. “I have not added scores this high in a while. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ll get started on that tomorrow.”