CHICAGO, Ill. – The North Park University Cross Country team completed its first race of the 2024 season Friday afternoon at the NPU/CUC Early Invitational at Schiller Woods.
On the men's side, junior Ali Karatas was the top finisher for the Vikings with a time of 16:07.5. He officially etched his name in the North Pack record books, breaking an 18-year-old school record set by James Williams.
Freshman Kai Foote kicked off his college career with a time of 17:39.5 to cross the line 52nd, the highest finisher among freshmen. He also broke the 18-year-old school record with a time of 17:39.5
On the women's side, graduate Alexa Pawlowski and senior Emma Klein both set personal best in the 5,000-meter race, crossing the finish line at 24:20.03 and 24:25.6, respectively.
"This was a great start to the season. We competed and fought hard and ran as a team," North Park head coach Bisrat Kidane said. "Under the conditions we had, they really did well. Seeing our runners competing in our first home meet in 20+ years was awesome. The women all ran extremely well and together as a pack for a good part of the race. Our men came out hot and looked so much better than last year, which is really encouraging. I enjoyed watching our freshmen and younger runners go out and compete hard with an idea to race, and it shows how bright our future is. I have high expectations for what this team can do and we are excited to see them build from today's start."
Top 25 Performance - (Note: performances only date back to 2006)
- Ali Karatas is now the School Record Holder in the 5,000-Meters
- Kai Foote is now 2nd all-time in NPU School History in the 5,000-meter
- Gio Martinez is now 4th all-time in NPU School History in the 5,000-meter
What's Next?
North Park crosses the IL-WI border next Friday when they compete at the Vic Godfrey Open in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The raced at Wayne E. Daniel CC Course will begin at 5:00 PM.
