University of Southern Indiana junior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) finished ninth out of 215 runners as the No. 7 Screaming Eagles’ men’s cross country team finished second out of 31 teams at the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Championships Saturday at Angel Mounds.
Broughton’s effort was huge for the Eagles, who saw their top two runners—senior Johnnie Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) and junior Noah Lutz (Evansville, Indiana)—battle the flu throughout the race. Broughton finished his first-career 10-kilometer race in 31 minutes, 12.64 seconds to earn All-Midwest Region accolades.
Despite suffering from flu-like symptoms, Guy and Lutz were still able to post 22nd and 26th-place finishes, respectively, to help the Eagles qualify for the NCAA II National Championships for the 11th consecutive year. Guy earned All-Midwest Region honors for his finish, while Lutz, who finished in 31:47.11, was less than four seconds away from an All-Region award, which goes to the top 25 finishers.
USI had four runners finish in the top 30 and six in the top 38 as it finished with 122 points, four ahead of the No. 13 University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers, who were third. Senior Tyler Schickel (Poseyville, Indiana) and junior Josh Guy (Palmyra, Indiana) were 30th and 35th, respectively, while sophomore Jesse Stanley (Chandler, Indiana) was 38th.
No. 1 Grand Valley State University finished first with 43 points, while No. 23 Malone University was fourth with 166 points. Walsh University rounded out the top five teams, who all qualify for the national meet, with a team score of 212.
Individually, Cedarville University senior Benjamin Tuttle finished first with a time of 30:34.37, while University of Indianapolis senior Alex Cushman was second with a time of 30:40.23. Tuttle, Cushman, and Bellarmine University sophomore Chris Striegel, who was fourth, each qualified for the national meet as individuals.
The Eagles compete at the NCAA II National Championships November 21 in Joplin, Missouri.
