Coming down the home stretch of the Mid-American Conference women's cross country championship meet last year, Northern Illinois runner Kelsey Hildreth had a shot to win it.
Instead, she took second – the consolation prize being three seconds from winning the conference title and a calf injury that kept her out of the NCAA Midwest Regional race.
Now Hildreth is back and is eyeing the championship that slipped through her fingers, Northern Illinois second-year coach Adrian Myers said.
"She's put in a lot of miles this summer," Myers said of Hildreth, who finished in second place with a time of 20 minutes, 42.