By Emily McCarthy, News Staff
While the Northeastern cross country teams concluded the fall season in the Bronx on Friday at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship, one Husky runner earned the opportunity to don the black and red one more time this calendar year.
Sophomore standout Wesley Gallagher stamped his ticket to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. with a 24th-place finish at the regional championship. Just like he has all season, Gallagher led the way for Northeastern with a top time of 30:46.5 for the 10-kilometer course.
The top-25 finish gave Gallagher an individual at-large bid for the national meet. He will be just the third NU runner in two decades to race in the national championship.
“I know all year I’ve really been looking forward to the regional meet,” Gallagher said. “My main goal was conferences but I guess at the back burner was regionals, always in my mind. We’ve had two kids qualify I think ever for Northeastern so I really wanted to get in that group to make it.”
Northeastern director of track and field and cross country, Cathrine Erickson, commended Gallagher’s dedication and drive to succeed.
“Wes has done a great job,” Erickson said. “He has been very committed to training, especially during the summer which sets up the fall, and he’s always been a heck of a competitor.”
Gallagher helped the men’s squad capture 15th place out of the field of 37 teams. Sophomore Zachary Krause finished 62nd overall in 31:43.0 while junior Zachary Fraielli finished 81st with a time of 32:00.09.
Juniors Charles Conway and Stephen Sollowin rounded out the scoring for the Huskies, finishing 127th and 154th, respectively.
“Zach Fraielli, Zach Krause and Steve have all had really good seasons,” Erickson said. “Overall it’s been a very productive cross country season, which is great.”
Freshman Lucy Young once again led the way for the women’s side with a 29th-place finish, running the 6k course in 21:07.0. The Huskies finished 20th as a team out of 37 squads.
“I think we had great performances,” Erickson said. “Lucy Young was the third-best freshman in the field. She had a great, great race.”
Freshman Jordan O’Dea finished 103rd for the Huskies with a time of 22:23.9, sophomore Jocelyn Hubbard finished 114th in 22:28.8, and seniors Danielle Klein and Eryn Wheeler finished 137th and 187th, respectively.
Bound for Terra Haute on Nov. 23, Gallagher said his goal is to finish in the top 70 runners.
Erickson said she hopes “for Wes to be Wes” and that he runs a smart race and listens to the direction he needs.
“It’s going to be exciting,” she said. “Going to Terra Haute is really exciting, especially as a sophomore.”
