With one invitational remaining in the regular season, the NIU cross country team looks forward to Saturday at U-W Parkside.

The women are confident they will finish the season strong before the MAC Championships begin Nov. 2.

“We have been working together,” captain Bonnie Miller said. “We all encourage one another.”

Last year, the Huskies placed in the top 10 at U-W Parkside. Freshman Christina Nieto will have much to bring to the team, having been in the top five at every meet this season.

“We want to build off of last year’s performance,” coach Shantel Twiggs said.

Twiggs is looking for big results from Michelle Rhoden and Laura Dunn, who had times of 22:50.9 and 22:32.3 at last weekend’s Benedictine Invite.

The key to this team is togetherness.

“We have chemistry,” Twiggs said.

The dedication and hard work these ladies possess will be enough to compete at U-W Parkside, Twiggs added.

Outside of practice, the girls work diligently in the classroom, Twiggs said. She is confident her Huskies will have a great finish to end the regular season.