NORTON, Ohio - Mercy Kinyanjui captured first place to lead the Toledo women's cross country team to a third-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Individual Championship in Norton, Ohio on Friday.
Kinyanjui's time of 19:29.7 is her personal best. A redshirt freshman, Kinyanjui is just the second-ever Toledo women's cross country runner to take the regional title, and the first since Rocket Hall of Famer Briana Shook won in 2002.
Toledo placed third overall with 100 points, just three points behind No. 14 Wisconsin. No. 6 Notre Dame won the race with 51 points. The third-place finish ties the Rockets' highest team finish ever, and is the fourth time in program history that the Rockets have landed in third place.
Toledo was the highest finishing Mid-American Conference program and place ahead of five Big Ten schools -- No. 29 Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana and Purdue.
Following the women's race, Toledo's men came in 11th place, with Dominic Serem becoming the first Rocket to individually qualify for the NCAA Men's National Championship.
The Rockets wait to see if they received an at-large bid to the National Championship on Saturday, Nov. 23. The NCAA Cross Country Selection Show will take place on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 5:00 p.m. live on ncaa.com.
