 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Cross Country travels to St. Leo, Florida for the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championships Saturday at The Abbey Course. The women’s six-kilometer race begins at 7:30 a.m. (CST) while the men’s 10k is scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m. (CST).
Fans that are unable to make the trip can watch the Screaming Eagles live on NCAA.com. Links to live video and results are available at GoUSIEagles.com.
USI Cross Country Notes
- Comastri captures her first regional title. Great Lakes Valley Conference champion Jennifer Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) won her first NCAA II Midwest Regional title on November 6. Comastri, who became the third runner in program history to win a regional cross country championship, joins USI Hall of Famer Heather Cooksey (2004-05) as the only runner in program history to win both the GLVC and Regional championships in the same year.
- Eagles’ men making another trip to nationals. USI Men’s Cross Country is making its 16th straight appearance at the NCAA II Championships after finishing fifth at the NCAA II Midwest Regional Championships. The Screaming Eagles were one of four Midwest Region teams to earn an at-large bid for their 28th trip to nationals. They have recorded eight top-10 finishes at nationals, including a third-place showing in 1982 and a fifth-place finish in 1983.
- USI women in back-to-back nationals. The Eagles’ women are heading back to nationals for the second straight year and 13th time in program history following a runner-up finish at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships. USI has placed top-10 at nationals four times, including a program-best fifth-place finish at the 2016 NCAA II Championships.
- All-Region honorees. Senior Jennifer Comastri earned All-Midwest honors in addition to Midwest Region Runner of the Year accolades with her first-place finish at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships. Senior Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois) and sophomore Hadley Fisher (Evansville, Indiana) also earned All-Midwest Region honors as they finished 21st and 23rd respectively. For the men, junior Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) earned All-Midwest Region honors with his fourth-place finish.
- Eagles retake conference title. USI Women’s Cross Country returned to the top of the GLVC after a brief hiatus in 2020. The Eagles’ won their second conference title in three years as well as their 11th in the last 14 years. In total, USI Women’s Cross Country has won 14 GLVC championships.
Comastri double-trouble for Runner of the Year. Jennifer Comastri becomes just the second runner in program history to earn both GLVC Runner of the Year as well as Region Runner of the Year along with Heather Cooksey (2004-05). In her time at USI, Comastri is a four-time All-GLVC honoree and earned All-America honors in 2019.
- More hardware for the Eagles. Along with Comastri, USI Women’s Cross Country pulled a clean sweep of GLVC honors. Freshman Cameron Hough (Olney, Illinois) earned GLVC Freshman of the Year honors after her fifth-place finish at the GLVC Championships. Head Coach Mike Hillyard brought home his 29th career GLVC Coach of the Year honors following a vote of the league coaches at the conclusion of the GLVC Championships.
- All-GLVC honors are aplenty for USI. In addition to Comastri and Hough, USI had five women’s runners and four men’s runners earn All-Conference honors thanks to their top 20 finishes at the GLVC Championships. Joining Comastri and Hough on the women’s side was sophomore Hadley Fisher (11th), senior Kara Martin (12th), sophomore McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, IN) (15th), and sophomore Lauren Greiwe (West Harrison, Indiana) (20th) rounded out the women’s All-League content. Junior Noah Hufnagel (2nd), junior Titus Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) (6th), sophomore Braden Nicholson (Claremont, Illinois) (12th), and sophomore Mitchell Hopf (Santa Claus, Indiana) (13th) represented USI Men’s on the All-Conference team.
- In the polls. USI’s women moved up one spot to No. 10 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 poll, while USI’s men dropped four spots to No. 19.
