EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Cross Country hosts the 2021 NCAA Division II Midwest Region Championships Saturday at Angel Mounds. The women’s six-kilometer race begins at 10:30 a.m., while the men’s 10k is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m.
The Screaming Eagles’ women enter Saturday’s regional after winning their 14th Great Lakes Valley Conference title and first since 2019.
Senior Jennifer Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) was named the GLVC Runner of the Year and freshman Cameron Hough (Olney, Illinois) was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year after the duo finished first and fifth, respectively, at the league meet.
In all, USI had seven of the top 21 finishers, with six claiming All-GLVC accolades.
USI’s women enter Saturday’s meet ranked No. 11 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Division II National Rankings. The Eagles are one of three GLVC teams to earn a spot in the latest ranking and one of nine teams from the Midwest Region earning recognition.
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Grand Valley State University is ranked No 2 to headline the women’s programs from the Midwest Region in the latest national rankings, while Great Midwest Athletic Conference champion Cedarville University is ranked No. 14.
Lewis University (t-No. 15), Southwest Baptist University (No. 20), Saginaw Valley State University (No. 22), Walsh University (No. 23), Wayne State University (No. 29) and Hillsdale College (RV) are the other Midwest Region teams in the latest USTFCCCA National Rankings.
The men’s race also features a strong presence in the national rankings, led by No. 1-ranked Grand Valley State, which is coming off a win at the GLIAC Championships two weeks ago. GLVC champion Lewis University is ranked No. 10, while the University of Illinois Springfield and USI are No. 14 and No. 15, respectively.
GMAC champion Walsh University is ranked No. 22, while Michigan Tech University (No. 25) and Wayne State (No. 30) round out the nationally ranked teams in the Midwest Region.
USI is coming off a third-place finish at the GLVC Championships two weeks ago. Despite posting one of the best average team times in program history, the Eagles were edged by Lewis and Illinois Springfield in the last 2,000 meters of the 8k race.
Junior Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) had the lead for most of the race before finishing second, while junior Titus Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) joined Hufnagel as one of four Eagles to earn All-GLVC honors with his sixth-place finish.
Individually, Winders is the two-time defending NCAA Midwest Region champion after claiming the 2018 and 2019 titles (there was no NCAA meets in 2020 due to COVID-19).
Grand Valley State is the defending champion in both the men’s and women’s field and is looking to advance to nationals, which are November 20 in St. Leo, Florida.
The top three teams in each race earn automatic bids into the NCAA II Championships, while the top two individuals not on advancing teams earn automatic bids. The top five individuals overall also earn automatic bids to the national meet, while the remaining teams and individuals will have to wait until Monday to find out if they have earned an at-large bid. That announcement will be released on NCAA.com.
Live results for Saturday’s race can be accessed on GoUSIEagles.com. All tickets will be sold at the gate on race day. Tickets for adults are $10, while students are $5. Children, ages 2-and-under, are admitted free of charge.
