NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Date	Fri., Nov. 10, 2017
Times	Women's 6K: 11:15 a.m. ET | Men's 10K: 12:15 p.m. ET
Location	Terre Haute, Ind. | LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course
Course Info	6K Map | 10K Map
Meet Info	Championship Central | Meet Info | Live Results
Entry Info	Men's Box Assignments | Women's Box Assignments | Men's Entries | Women's Entries
Rankings	National/Regional Rankings
USTFCCCA Info	Regionals Info
Watch	FloTrack Live Stream
Social Media	? @IndStTrackField | ? Sycamore Track | ? SycamoreTrack

 
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Sycamore men's and women's cross country teams are ready to compete against some of the nation's best for a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships at this Friday's NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, hosted by Indiana State.
 
The Great Lakes Regional has historically been one of the toughest regions across the NCAA, and this year is no different with three nationally ranked men's teams and five nationally ranked teams on the women's side.

The cost to attend the Great Lakes Regional Meet is $5 per person.
 
The regional format that the NCAA uses for cross country is also how it determines who competes at the national championship, this year hosted by Louisville for the third time ever. The top-two teams in each regional race automatically earn a berth to the NCAA Championships, as do the next four individual finishers not attached to either of those two qualifying teams.
 
An additional 13 at-large teams and a variable number of additional individuals are chosen through a national selection process within a day following each regional meet across the country on Friday. The top-25 finishers at each regional earn All-Region honors.
 
The Sycamore men will compete against 228 other competitors that comprise 29 teams in addition to ISU on Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET. After a valiant effort at the MVC Championships two weeks ago, the men feel they have momentum on their side.
 
"The guys have been looking really sharp and I feel like we're ready to roll after an awesome race at the MVC Championships," head coach Kyle Walsh said. "We still have a bitter taste in our mouths from matching Bradley 49-49, but losing on the head to head tiebreaker. However, we started the year saying our two best performances will be MVC Championships and the NCAA Regional.  We get to host this great race on the course designed by our legendary Coach McNichols and the guys will continue to make him proud. It's an extremely gutsy group and I know all seven men will toe the line and give all they have for this team. We are ranked 13^th in the Region, but we know we're capable of cracking into that top 10 range and beating some very good programs." 
 
At the MVC Championships, the ISU men tied with Bradley for the championship at 49 points, falling only in a tiebreaker. Seth Cousins led the way for the men, finishing in sixth at 25:03.10 after getting out to a strong start and leading for over half of the race. Quentin Pierce followed Cousins, crossing the line in eighth at 25:04.00. Blake Kramer and Akis Medrano rounded out the top-10 (and All-MVC honorees) for the Sycamores finishing in ninth and tenth, respectively. Kramer finished with a time of 25:06.10 and Medrano finished at 25:07.40.
 
"Either Cousins or Medrano have led us in every meet so far, but if the two of them can put it together on the same day, our team is very dangerous. Pierce has probably been our most consistent on the team and he's always a gamer in the big competitions. Kramer wasn't even on the travel roster last year and now he's made massive gains to mix it up earning All-MVC honors with three of his teammates. Ryan Cash overcame a rolled ankle and was huge as our fifth man at MVC's and he's healthy and ready to roll for our season finale at LaVern Gibson. Isaac Bentz and Corey Alfredson have both made nice progress this year and add to the depth of our team. Both of them are capable of running with Cash and making us a strong team through the middle parts of the race. I'm really excited to see what this group can do," Walsh said.
 
 Among the teams that the Sycamores will be competing with include Michigan (10th nationally), Michigan State (15th nationally) and Wisconsin (25th nationally). All three Big 10 schools happen to be the top-three teams in the Great Lakes Region.
 
The Indiana State women will face off with 289 runners and 33 teams in the Women's 6K race on Friday at 11:15 a.m. ET. Fresh off of a fourth-place finish at the MVC Championships, the women are looking for a top-15 finish in the region.
 
"The women really wanted a top three finish at the MVC Championship and fell just short in Springfield," Walsh said. "Despite it not being our best team race, I'm really excited with the team chemistry and attitudes moving forward to the NCAA Regional. The group is relaxed and remains confident that we still have our best race ahead of us. We practice at LaVern Gibson most weeks and the course really fits our team. We've finished 16^th the past two seasons with back to back lowest team scores since 2001. We are currently not ranked in the top 15 but I have no doubt we are capable of that performance and there's no place we'd rather do it than right here in Terre Haute."
 
Two weeks ago at the MVC Championships in Springfield, senior Taylor Austin etched her name in the ISU history books behind an MVC runner-up finish, ending up with the second-best time in school history in the 5K at 17:12.40. She will be looking to advance to the NCAA Championships on November 18 in Louisville for the first time in her career.
 
"Taylor was fantastic at the MVC Championships and is really rolling right now. Claiming runner-up in the MVC and second fastest 5K in ISU history has her more hungry than ever for a great race at Regionals. She's definitely capable of an All-Region finish and we will see how many women she can chase down over the final kilometer of the race," Walsh said.
 
Megan Doty and Jessi Conley finished behind Austin in 20th and 21st, respectively. Doty just edged Conley, finishing at 18:09.10 with Conley at 18:10.10. Alli Workman was the fourth scorer for the Sycamores, crossing the line in 27th at 18:14.00 and Michaela Ward came in as the fifth scorer at 18:41.00 and 34th place.
 
"Our race at conference broke into groups of three," Walsh said. "Jessi Conley had the best cross country race of her life to match races with our ever consistent Megan Doty and Alli Workman. The three of them were within five seconds of each other and will replicate the same on Friday. Michaela Ward also stepped up huge pushing into scoring position with strong team leaders Colleen Madden and Abigail Grider. These three have an exciting roll to carry for our team and I'm excited to watch them work together to solidify our team depth and give us that chance to be a top 15 team."
 
The women will face some staunch competition on Friday, with the top-five teams in the Great Lakes Region all ranked nationally. Michigan (8th nationally) is the number one team in the region, followed by Wisconsin (17th nationally), Michigan State (21st nationally), Ohio State (25th nationally) and Eastern Michigan (27th nationally).
 
"Friday will be a great day for Sycamore Cross Country," Walsh said.
 
The women's 6K kicks off at 11:15 a.m. ET, while the men's 10K will wrap things up at 12:15 p.m. The races will be streamed live on FloTrack's subscription service.
 
Quick Hits
 

• Last season the Sycamore men finished ninth in the region, while the women finished 16th
• Senior Taylor Austin was a part of All-Region team in 2015 after a 23rd place finish
• The last Sycamore male to make the NCAA Championships for the men was John Mascari in 2015
• The last Sycamore female to make the NCAA Championships was Jessica Crowder in 2003
• Michigan and Wisconsin have alternated claiming the Regional championship over the past five years for the men
• Michigan has won four of the last five Regional championships on the women's side
• Shalane Flanagan, winner of the first NCAA XC Championship hosted at Indiana State and daughter of ISU cross country legend Cheryl Treworgy, became the first American woman to win the NYC Marathon in 40 years on Sunday

Men's Great Lakes Region Rankings:
1. Michigan #10
2. Michigan State #15
3. Wisconsin #25
4. Purdue
5. Eastern Michigan
6. Butler
7. Indiana
8. Notre Dame
9. Miami (Ohio)
10. Oakland
11. Marquette
12. Dayton
13. Indiana State
14. Bowling Green
15. IUPUI
 
Women's Great Lakes Region Rankings:
1. Michigan #8
2. Wisconsin #17
3. Michigan State #21
4. Ohio State #25
5. Eastern Michigan #27
6. Indiana
7. Toledo
8. Miami (Ohio)
9. Notre Dame
10. Purdue
11. Dayton
12. Oakland
13. Marquette
14. Xavier
15. Central Michigan
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Cross Country team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.