DeKALB | This Halloween weekend won’t include any ghosts or ghouls for the NIU women’s cross country team.

Instead, the Huskies will look to take a bite out of a tantalizing treat: the MAC Championship.

Going into the six-kilometer event, the Huskies are coming off a stellar performance.

They finished 13th out of 33 teams at the Tom Neubauer Invite.

This event is the only conference meet of the season, and the Huskies want to show they have the goods, even if they’re stacked with young and inexperienced runners.

Assistant Coach Mark McConeghey said he felt his team appears ready.

Yet McConeghey would like one of his runners to step up and fill the fifth-runner spot that has caused some struggles for NIU in this year. “I think they’re pretty well-prepared,” McConeghey said. “We still are searching for that number five girl, and I think we are starting to gel a little bit.”

Freshman Courtney Oldenburg and sophomore Nancy Nieto will be depended on to continue their success in the big event.

“It’s not typical for a freshman to come in and be the number one kid and run that well,” McConeghey said of Oldenburg.

The spotlight could also shine on junior Sunsea Shaw.

Previously, McConeghey noted that Shaw’s overall performance has risen in more crucial events.

An outstanding showing from her, along with the underclassmen duo of Oldenburg and Nieto, will give NIU a legitimate shot of pulling off this trick, he said.

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