McLean County Times

Illinois Wesleyan University's women's cross country junior will participate in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships for the second consecutive year. The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 23, at LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, with the race beginning at 11 a.m. ET.

Throughout this season, Crabtree has been a leading figure for Illinois Wesleyan's team. She achieved her best time of the season at the DIII Pre-Nationals on October 4, clocking in at 22:02.05 on the same course where she will compete this weekend. Her performance earned her a third All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honor after securing third place at the CCIW Championship on November 2. Furthermore, she attained her highest placement to date by finishing 13th out of 210 participants at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on November 16, earning her second all-region recognition.

Crabtree's regional championship finish was notable as it was the best by an Illinois Wesleyan runner since Erin McCarey secured a 12th-place finish in 2015.

This year's qualification marks three consecutive years that an IWU women's cross country athlete has qualified individually for nationals. Crabtree becomes only the second IWU runner to qualify in back-to-back years, following her teammate who achieved this feat in both 2022 and 2023.

Crabtree will represent Illinois Wesleyan University at LaVern Gibson Course Country Course in Terre Haute on Saturday morning. Live results from the race will be available online, with official results posted later on iwusports.com.