NCAA XC Championship Central
Courtesy of MAC Sport Information Departments
Akron // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. - University of Akron seniors Marc Migliozzi (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Mackenzie Andrews (Toowoomba, Australia) headlined the efforts of the Akron men's and women's cross country teams at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by the University of Wisconsin on Friday, Nov. 15, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.
The Zips posted eighth- and 14th-place team finishes in the men's and women's fields, respectively. The men's eighth-place effort is the second-best in program history, behind only a seventh-place finish in 2015, while Akron's 14th-place team effort in the women's race marked the Zips' top finish at the regional since placing eighth in 2008.
Migliozzi led the Zips' men's squad crossing the line in a career- and team-best time of 30:46.4, en route to finishing 19th overall in the men's 10K.
By virtue of his performance, Migliozzi has placed himself in a prime position to receive an at-large selection to the NCAA Championships, Nov. 23, in Terre Haute, Ind. If Migliozzi earns an at-large berth when they are announced on Saturday, Nov. 16, he would become the first Zips to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in program history.
"It was a fabulous performance by the whole team today and everyone ran very well together," Akron head coach Lee LaBadie commented. "Marc (Migliozzi) did a great job and may qualify for nationals and become the first Zip in program history to do so. I couldn't be more pleased with everyone from Marc, Nick (Stricklen), Andre (Bollam-Godbott), Jacob (Ondash), Chase (Easterling), Aidan (Harr) and Jeremiah (Fitzgerald). Everyone ran PR's today helping us get out very strong as a team and we were up there with the top-four teams from the beginning."
In the final race in her decorated Akron career, senior Mackenzie Andrews (Toowoomba, Australia) turned in career-best time of 21:02.3 en route to placing 28th in the women's 6K.
Andrew's performance marked the highest individual finish for an Akron women's runner since 2009 when Larisa Arcip placed 43rd overall.
"Two weeks ago, we had our highest finish in a decade at the MAC Championships and this weekend we had our highest Great Lakes Regional finish since 2008," Akron head women's coach Trey Brokaw commented. "I'm proud of the progress we had this season. Unfortunately, none of our girls today. Mackenzie (Andrews) was very close, running extremely tough and putting herself up with the leaders from the start. Her Akron career has ended, but the toughness she developed this cross country season will serve her well as a professional."
Senior Nick Stricklen (Lexington, Ohio) was next across the line for the Zips' men registering a career-best time of 31:22.3 to place 39th overall.
Rounding out Akron's scoring efforts in the men's 10K with career-best times of 32:00.6 (64th), 32:17.9 (80th) and 32:43.0 (100th), respectively, was junior Andre Bollam-Godbott (Brunswick, Ohio), redshirt junior Jacob Ondash (Hiram, Ohio) and freshman Chase Easterling (Mt. Orab, Ohio).
Freshman Aidan Harr (New Philadelphia, Ohio) and senior Jeremiah Fitzgerald (Mantua, Ohio) capped the Zips' performances with career-best times of 32:49.8 (105th) and 33:09.0 (124th), respectively.
Senior Haley Hess (Curtice, Ohio) was next across the line for the Zips' women registering a career-best finish (63rd) on the strength of a time of 21:45.0.
Rounding out Akron's scoring efforts was junior Lindsey Scarton (Berea, Ohio), freshman Olivia Anaple (Blue Ash, Ohio) and sophomore Lizzy Gurko (Northfield, Ohio), as the trio posted times of 21:59.7, 22:33.5 and 22:43.9, respectively.
Additionally, redshirt junior Alyssa Thomas (Green, Ohio) garnered a time of 23:03.5.
Culminating a campaign of continued improvement in both times and results, Andrews, Hess, Scarton and Gurko lowered their finishing times from a year ago by 38 (21:40.16), 28 (22:13.19), 32 (22:31.96) and 29 (23:12.94) seconds, respectively, while Anaple recorded a career-best 6K time.
Ball State // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. -- Senior Maritza Rodriguez saved her best for last, turning in a career-fast 6K time of 21:43.2 to lead the Ball State cross country team Friday afternoon at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by Wisconsin.
In her final collegiate cross country race, Rodriguez became the program's first runner in nearly a decade to place in the top 65 of a regional race, securing 62nd overall among the highly-talented field of 215 runners at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.
"Maritza had a good showing today," distance coach Rachel McFarlane said. "She raced to what she knows she's capable of after an off conference race. It was great to see her end her cross country career on such a strong note, and set herself up for even better things during the track and field season."
Prior to Rodriguez's effort, the last Ball State runner to break into the top 65 at a regional race was all-time great Ali Bishel who placed 46th in what was also her final cross country event for the Cardinals in 2010.
Overall, Ball State's five scored runners clocked in with an average time of 22:24.2 and a spread of just 1:06.1. That combined effort led the Cardinals to its first top 20 team finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional since the 2007 season.
Ball State finished 19th overall among the 31 scored teams Friday, topping Mid-American Conference foes Western Michigan (22nd), Ohio (25th) and Bowling Green (26th). The Cardinals also out-ran in-state rivals IUPUI (23rd), Indiana State (24th), Evansville (27th), Valparaiso (28th) and Purdue Fort Wayne (30th).
"The team's growth this season has been awesome to see," McFarlane said. "They've been able to approach practice and racing with confidence and have really embraced each other."
Behind Rodriguez, Ball State's next three runners all finished within five spots and 5.5 seconds of each other. Junior Cayla Eckenroth led the trio with a 112th-place time of 22:27.3, while freshman Vivian Van Eck was right behind in 113th at 22:28.3. Rounding out the group was senior Hannah Cummings in 117th at 22:32.2.
Ball State's fifth scored runner was senior Peyton Kneadler in 131st at 22:49.1, while freshman Juliana Stogsdill placed 144th overall in 23:01.6.
"I'm most proud of the hard work that every woman on the team has put in starting in the summer," McFarlane concluded. "The direction the program is taking is a reflection of their hard work day in and day out. I expect the women to build off this season and continue learning about themselves as teammates and competitors."
The Cardinals distance runners will now turn their attention to the indoor track & field season which begins in less than a month with the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodon Opener on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Bowling Green // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. – The Bowling Green State University men's and women's cross country teams took to the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course at the University of Wisconsin on Friday (Nov. 15) afternoon for the 2019 NCAA Great Lakes Regional championships. The BGSU women's team took 26th place overall in team scoring, while the men's team earned a 21st place finish in team scoring.
Women's 6k Event
The Women's 6k event saw 215 total competitors representing 31 teams from all across the very competitive Great Lakes Region. The Falcons earned a team score of 671 securing a 26th place finish in the field. BGSU was joined in the race by seven other MAC schools.
Individual Performances
Coach Juan Carrillo's Take
"I think individually we competed better than two weeks ago at the MAC championship. Kyle Hibinger ran a huge personal best of 31:52 which is a lot better than his regional race a year ago. Gabe Garbarino and AJ Haffa showed improvement as well. As a team it hurt us not having our No. 3 runner race today due to injury. Also, our No. 1 runner did not have his best race which played a big impact in our final scoring. This year has been up and down and we are growing and learning in the process. We are going to use this year as a learning experience and continue building this program to the top of the MAC again."
Buffalo // Northeast Regional
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo played host to the NCAA Northeast Cross Country Regional Championships on Friday on a very balmy fall afternoon. Over 530 total runners ran the UB campus with hundreds of spectators from across the region cheering on their team.
To open the day was the women's 6k race. The UB women's team finished 22nd out of 37 teams with 611 points. The team improved six spots from the 2018 NCAA Northeast Regional Championship where they finished in 28th place. Leading the way for the Bulls was senior Meghan LaTuso as she finished with a time of 21:12.6 for 85th place. In a large pack of runners was Riley Jones (94th – 21:18.9) and freshman Alexia Hecico (127th – 21:46.6). Freshmen Dana Lynch (153rd – 22:08.3) and Maxine Dupuis (162nd – 22:17.3) rounded out the top-five for the Bulls. Finishing off their seasons strong were Lily Meek (178th – 22:30.9) and Rachel Barich (217th – 23:04.3).
The close out the cold day was the men's 10k. The UB men's team finished in 16th out of 37 teams with 439 points. Caleb Covell highlighted the UB runners as he led the way for the Bulls as he finished with a personal best 10k time of 29:41.8 for 32nd place. Junior Thomas Flannery (72nd – 30:12.9) and William Hilbert (92nd – 30:32.3) joined a herd of runners that crossed the finish line. Sophomores Cal Puskar (115th – 30:54.4) and Scott Loforte (132nd – 31.06.1) finished the Bulls' top-five. Christopher Nowak finished the race with a respectable 32:10.4 for 181st place.
The Harvard Crimson went on to sweep both regional titles as the women's team finished with 92 points and the men's team finished with a total of 59 points.
The Bulls will head into the indoor track and field season where they will look to improve every day.
Central Michigan // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. – The CMU men's cross country team ran well in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Friday, finishing 11th in a 29-team field at Wisconsin's Thomas Zimmer Championship Course.
Purdue won with 79 points, beating runner-up Notre Dame, which had 85. The Boilermakers and Irish advance to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.
It was the final race of the season for the Chippewas.
Senior Mark Beckmann was the top finisher for the Chippewas, running a time of 31:30.8, good for 44th in his final collegiate race.
"Losing a guy like Mark, who's been a great member of the program, will be tough to replace," CMU coach Jason Hartmann said. "But he set a good plate for us going forward."
Also for the Chippewas, Zach Sleeman finished 51st (31:39.1), Conor Naughton was 69th (32:06.7), Riad Rababeh was 70th (32:08.1), Will Finch finished 118th (32:58.9), Adam Rzentkowski (33:15.6) was 131st, and Jakob Sayers finished 141st at 33:32.1.
Sleeman is a senior, Naughton is a junior, Rababeh and Finch are sophomores, while Rzentkowski and Sayers are freshmen.
"I think all seven of them did a phenomenal job," Hartmann said, adding that he is encouraged by the team's performance against some of the nation's top competition and that the future is bright for CMU cross country.
"Overall, I thought we did an exceptional job," he said. "They competed very well, a lot of very positive things that we can build off going forward. From a team standpoint, from an overall standpoint, super excited about what they did today."
Eastern Michigan Men // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's cross country team finished in 10th place with a team score of 347 points at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Friday, Nov. 15, at the Thomas Zimmer Championships Cross Country Course. Five Eagles set personal-best 10K times as the Green and White recorded their sixth top-10 finish in the last seven years at this event.
"Despite not having sophomore Eddie Zuercher (Rocky River, Ohio-Rocky River) and freshman Josh Hill (Amherst, Ohio-Amherst Steele) (two of our regular top-five scorers) in the lineup who were injured in the MAC meet, we appeared a bit flat across the board today. I take full responsibility for that," said head coach John Goodridge. "This team returns all but one (senior Austin Wicker (Pinckney, Mich.-Pinckney)) and gained very valuable experience this season."
Sophomore Andy Payne (Worthington, Ohio-Thomas Worthington) paced the reigning Mid-American Conference champions as he finished in 49th place with a personal-best time of 31:34.5, while fellow sophomore Baldvin Magnusson (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University) ranked 59th with a career-record time of 31:54.6. Junior Owen Day (Ottawa, Ontario-International School of Dusseldorf) was the third EMU harrier to cross the finish line, coming in 66th place with a personal-best time of 32:04.6.
From there, sophomore Chris Devaney (New Plymouth, New Zealand-New Plymouth) finished 88th with a career-best time of 32:30.4, while Wicker was right behind in 89th place at 32:31.0. Junior Solomon Costa (Gahanna, Ohio-Gahanna Lincoln) added a personal-best time of 33:19.7, as sophomore Noah Perrin (Akron, Ohio-Woodridge) rounded out the field as he clocked in at 34:09.6.
As the Eagles did not end up clinching a top-two finish, they will now wait and see if they have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be announced this weekend. The championship meet will be held in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday, Nov. 23.
Eastern Michigan Women // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's cross country team finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional for the sixth consecutive season, as it placed ninth with a team score of 283 points Friday, Nov. 15, at the Thomas Zimmer Championships Cross Country Course.
"It was a solid day for us," said head coach Sue Parks. "We needed a perfect race to have a shot at breaking into the group of nationally-ranked teams and it just wasn't there today. But I'm proud of the team for running strong after such a tough battle at the MAC meet.
Sometimes, it's hard to bounce back after such an emotional win, but the girls battled hard." added Parks. "I'm excited about graduate student Natalie Cizmas' (Clinton Twp., Mich.-Chippewa Valley) outstanding race and we'll look forward to seeing the official word of the NCAA qualifiers. Overall, I'm pleased wit the effort today and the way we performed as a team during the championship part of the season."
Cizmas finished a career-best 10th place in the 6K race as she crossed the finish line at 20:33.3, cutting nearly a full minute off her time at the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships, Nov. 2. Redshirt senior Emily Smith (Somerset, England-Wells Cathedral School) ended the meet in 47th place with a time of 21:29.0, while senior Karlie Swanson (New South Wales, Australia-Bellingen) placed 60th with a time of 21:42.5 and junior Madison Distelrath (Fort Wayne, Ind.-Homestead) finished in 66th spot at 21:47.0.
Three underclassmen rounded out the field, as sophomore Kaitlyn St. Bernard (Newport, Mich.-Jefferson) placed 100th with a time of 22:20.6, while freshman Esme Davies (Lake District, England-Queen Elizabeth Grammar School) and sophomore Emily DeLine (Newport, Mich.-Airport) closed out the event with times of 22:39.2 and 22:56.1, respectively.
As the five-time Mid-American Conference champions did not end up securing a top-two finish, they will now wait to see if they have earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships, which will be announced this weekend. However, Cizmas appears to be in line to an individual berth, which would mark her fourth straight appearance at the championship meet.
Kent State // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. – The Kent State men's and women's cross country teams concluded their 2019 seasons at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional at the Zimmer Championship Course at the University of Wisconsin on Friday afternoon.
Four individuals ran for the Flashes, two for the men and two for the women.
Alex Stamper led the way for Kent State in the men's 10k, finishing in 73rd-place (32:11.0). He narrowly beat teammate Drew Johnson, who secured a 74th-place finish (32:11.3).
On the women's side, Nicole Fleming finished in 123rd-place (22:39.1), while Leah Lisle earned a 127th-place finish (22:45.3).
Miami // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. - The 2019 cross country season came to an end for Miami on Friday at the Great Lakes Regional at the University of Wisconsin.
The RedHawks came away with 12th-place finishes in both the men's and women's races.
In the women's 6K that started the day, Emma Bryant led the way for Miami for the second week in a row, running a 21:17.0 for 40th overall, the highest placing of any RedHawk on the day. Bryant also led Miami two weeks ago at the MAC Championship, where she garnered All-MAC honors.
Senior Carly Davis, in her last cross country race for the 'Hawks, was the second to cross the line in Red and White, finishing 69th with a time of 21:49.8. McKenna Fry and Claire Linn, another recent All-MAC performer, took 81st and 87th respectively, while Maegan Murphy rounded out Miami's scoring five.
The men's race used a 10K distance instead of the typical 8K. Anthony Camerieri had a second strong performance in a row as he led all Miami runners with a time of 32:06.0, finishing 67th. Senior David Coffey wasn't far behind, running a 32:10.4 for 72nd. Ryan Sharkey and Obsaa Feda continued the tight pack of RedHawks, finishing just over a second apart for 77th and 79th, while Alex Tam was Miami's final scoring runner.
"Today wasn't quite what we were hoping for," said Miami head coach Tom Chorny following the meet. "It's been an interesting season and I think we made some mistakes early on in the schedule that did not give us the confidence we need. We definitely had a lot of highlights in practice, but unfortunately we were never quite able to show that during actual competition."
"We got very fit by the end of the year and each athlete proved that they are stronger and better than they were before, but we just need to figure out how to show up and compete on race day."
Speaking on Bryant's performance, Chorny said: "I was very happy with the way Emma raced. We've been waiting for her to step outside of her comfort zone and put it all together and she has done that these last few meets. I'm excited to see her take this big step in her growth as a runner and competitor."
Northern Illinois // Midwest Regional
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Junior Ashley Tutt (Channahon, Ill./Minooka) of the Northern Illinois University women's cross country team earned an automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday morning (Nov. 15) at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course.
As a team, NIU earned a ninth-place finish, tying the best mark in school history. Tutt becomes just the second Huskie to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships, joining Hope Schmelzle who took third at the 2016 NCAA Midwest Regional to punch her ticket to the national championship race.
"I knew today was going to be a dogfight from about six through nine in the team race and it could shake out in a lot of different ways," said NIU head coach Adrian Myers. "This is the first time in a few years our region has had as much national prominence, which is good for all of us, but it also makes it that much more difficult to crack the top-five.
"For us to finish ninth, and very close to a top-seven, is something we are happy with. The resiliency of our team really showed in that we could be a little bit off and still have a strong showing. I am proud of our program and how we competed today. This is a performance that we can build upon to become a top-five regional program and look at qualifying for the national championships down the road."
Tutt ran with the lead group right from the start of the race and was in the top-five at both the 2K and 4K splits before crossing the line in 20:35.9 to earn fourth place and an automatic spot at the NCAA Championships.
"Ashley ran exactly (the race) we talked about, turning it into a pure guts and heart race on the backside of the course," said Myers. "This is arguably one of the tougher courses I have ever seen as a coach, which is right up Ashley's alley, the more difficult the course, the more she enjoys the process.
"There were portions of the race where Ashley led, pushing the pace to keep it honest, and that is what we talked about, making moves and committing to them. She ran a great race, she got outkicked at the finish but still finished in a position to automatically qualify for the national championships."
Senior Ericka Hibser (Lewistown, Ill./Lewistown) was the second Huskie to finish, claiming 40th with a time of 21:43.0.
Junior Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) had a finishing time of 22:05.3 to take 61st and senior Vivian Overbeck (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) was just six seconds behind in 71st (22:11.4). Junior Meagan Biddle (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) was the fifth scoring Huskie with a time of 22:37.8, making up 15 spots over the final two kilometers to finish 105th.
The NCAA Championship will take place on Monday, November 23, on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.,
Ohio // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wisc. – Ohio men's and women's cross-country finished their season at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional today, Nov. 15. The men's team finished 15th out of 29 teams, while the women's team finished 25th out of 31 teams.
Junior Josh Park (Amherst, Ohio) led the way for Ohio on the men's side, finishing 32nd out of 201 total runners in the 10K race, with a time of 31:05.7. Redshirt junior Griffin Butler (Newark, Ohio) finished 92nd overall, crossing the line with a time of 32.35.7.
Junior Seth Gard (Eaton, Ohio) was right behind Butler, finishing 92nd with a time of 32.36.5.
On the women's side, redshirt senior Madison Sury (Waterford, Ohio) finished 92nd overall, finishing the 6K race with a time of 22:15.2. Junior Hailey Bowes (Arlington Heights, Ill.) finished 115th overall, clocking in at 22:31.3.
This is the conclusion of the 2019 Ohio cross-country season. Many cross-country athletes will be competing in the 2019-20 indoor track season.
Toledo // Great Lakes Regional
MADISON, Wis. - The University of Toledo women's cross country team finished 16th with a team score of 433 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Madison, Wis. on Friday.
"I'm disappointed in our team finish. I am not disappointed in the effort of our women, but we never want to get comfortable finishing that far down on the leader board," said head coach Andrea Grove-McDonough.
Senior Petronela Simiuc set pace for the Rockets, clocking a time of 21:39.3 to take 56th. Fellow senior Stephanie Sherman was the next Rocket across the line with a time of 21:55.7 to take 74th. Freshman Emily Vining posted a time of 22:03.4 to take 82nd.
"We had a couple bright spots," said Grove-McDonough. "I'd say Stephanie Sherman had the best race of her career. Petronela Simiuc, that's the hardest she has ever gotten out of a race and was in the lead group early. She was hurting earlier in the race than we'd normally see after getting out so hard, but she really put her head down and gritted out the last 2K. The one thing we talked about was I'd rather have you go for it and give yourself a chance. I was proud of her for sticking her nose in it. She made huge gains this fall and there is a lot to be excited about as we turn our attention towards the track season."
Michigan State took home the team win with 49 points and Wisconsin's Alicia Monson took the individual crown with a time of 19:59.9.
Western Michigan // Great Lakes Regional
Recap to follow...
