University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Cross Country competes at the NCAA II National Championships Saturday at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course (at Haggin Oaks) in Sacramento, California. The women’s six-kilometer race is set to begin at noon (CST), while the men’s 10k is slated for a 1:15 p.m. start time.
Fans that are unable to make the trip can watch the Screaming Eagles live on FloTrack.com. Links to live video and results are available at GoUSIEagles.com.
USI Cross Country Notes
• Winders captures another title. Great Lakes Valley Conference champion Titus Winders won his second consecutive NCAA II Midwest Region title on November 9. Winders, who became the fifth runner in program history to win a regional cross country championship, joins USI and GLVC Hall of Famers Jim Nolan (1982-83) and Elly Rono (1996-97) as the only runners in program history to win back-to-back regional titles.
• Eagles’ men making another trip to nationals. USI Men’s Cross Country is making its 15th straight appearance at the NCAA II Championships following a third-place effort at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships. The Eagles, who earned an automatic bid with their regional finish, are making their 27th trip to nationals. They have recorded eight top-10 finishes at nationals, including a third-place showing in 1982 and a fifth-place finish the following season.
• USI women returning to nationals. The Eagles’ women are returning to nationals for the first time since 2016 and the 12th time in program history following a sixth-place performance at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships. USI was one of eight NCAA II Midwest Region teams to qualify for nationals and one of five to earn an at-large bid. The Eagles have placed in the top 10 at nationals four times, including a program-best fifth-place showing at the 2016 NCAA II Championships.
• All-Region honorees. Sophomore Titus Winders garnered All-Midwest Region honors in addition to Midwest Region Runner of the Year accolades with his first-place finish at the regional meet. Junior Jennifer Comastri and senior Hope Jones were 13th and 18th, respectively, in the women’s race to earn All-Midwest Region honors.
• Double Trouble. USI Men’s and Women’s Cross Country both won Great Lakes Valley Conference titles on October 26, marking the 11th time in school history that the Eagles have captured both the men’s and women’s GLVC titles in the same year. In fact, the Eagles have now accounted for 11 of the 13 times in league history that the same school has won both the men’s and women’s crowns in the same season.
• Make that 15! USI Men’s Cross Country’s win at the GLVC Championships marked its 15th consecutive conference title and the 26th in program history. Both of those marks are league records regardless of sport.
• Eagles retake conference title. USI Women’s Cross Country returned to the top of the GLVC mountain after a brief hiatus in 2018. The Eagles, who had won seven straight GLVC titles prior to 2018, have won the conference championship 10 times in the last 12 years and a league-best 13 times overall.
• Winders named GLVC Runner of the Year. Sophomore All-American Titus Winders was named the GLVC Runner of the Year after winning his first GLVC title at the league meet. Winders, the 2018 GLVC Freshman of the Year as well as the 2018 Midwest Region Runner of the Year, is the ninth different USI men’s runner to capture a GLVC Cross Country title. USI men’s runners have won a total of 17 conference titles, including eight of the last nine. Senior Austin Nolan had won the previous two conference championships.
• All-GLVC honors handed out. In addition to Winders, USI had four men’s runners and five women’s runners earn All-Conference honors thanks to their top 15 finishes at the GLVC Championships. Nolan joined Winders in earning All-Conference honors with his fifth-place finish, while senior Nathan Hall (8th) and junior Gavin Prior (14th) rounded out the men’s All-League contingent. Junior Jennifer Comastri (5th), senior Hope Jones (6th), freshman Presley Warren (9th), junior Doriane Langlois (13th) and freshman Mckenna Cavanaugh (15th) represented USI’s women on the All-Conference team.
