EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Women’s Cross Country senior All-American Jennifer Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) earned her first regional title Saturday morning as the No. 11 Screaming Eagles punched their ticket to nationals with a second-place team finish at the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Championships at Angel Mounds.
Comastri dominated the race from start to finish as she opened a large lead in the first kilometer of the competition. She completed six-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 24.50 seconds, 18 seconds faster than Walsh University senior Alexa Leppelmeier, who was second in the 216-competitor field.
With her performance, Comastri earns All-Midwest Region honors and is the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Midwest Region Runner of the Year. She is the first USI women’s runner since Jessica Reeves (2016) to win a regional title in cross country and just the third in program history.
Comastri also is the first USI women’s runner to win both a GLVC title and regional crown in the same season since Heather Cooksey accomplished that feat in 2004.
As a team, the Eagles finished second, out of 30 teams, behind No. 2-ranked Grand Valley State University, which finished with 40 points by placing its top five runners in the top 16.
USI, which finished with 110 points, had five competitors finish in the top 34 as the Eagles cleared third-place Cedarville University by 27 points. Both Grand Valley State and Cedarville joined the Eagles in earning automatic bids to the NCAA II National Championships.
In addition to Comastri, the Eagles placed three runners on the USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region team as junior Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois) and sophomore Hadley Fisher (Evansville, Indiana) finished 21st and 23rd, respectively.
GLVC Freshman of the Year Cameron Hough (Olney, Illinois) and sophomore McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, Indiana) finished 31st and 34th, respectively, while sophomore Lauren Greiwe (West Harrison, Indiana) and freshman Allison Mophew (Evansville, Indiana) were 57th and 65th, respectively, to round out USI’s seven-member lineup.
The Eagles, whose second-place finish is their best regional placement since they were second at the 2009 regional meet, compete for a national championship November 20 at The Abbey Course in Saint Leo, Florida.
