Wildcats still have a chance of qualifying for nationals
KENOSHA, Wis. – The No. 12 Northern Michigan Cross Country team continued its excellent season as it finished in fourth out of 32 teams at the NCAA Division II Regional Championships. NMU was led by All-Region honorees Madi Szymanski and Ashley Choponis, who propelled the team to its best finish in the NCAA Midwest Regionals since 2017, where they also placed fourth.
In a race of just under 200 runners, the Wildcats were once again led by First-Team All GLIAC selection, and now All-Region member, Mady Szymanski. She placed 11th with a time of 21:17.45. Not far behind Szymanski was freshman phenom and Second-Team All GLIAC selection, Ashley Choponis, who placed 20th at 21:41.78. That earned her All-Region accolades as well.
Behind the leaders were a pack of Wildcats. That group was led by Sophia Potter in 40th (22:12.20), followed by Lamar Gordon in 43rd (22:15.65), Beverly Harper in 46th (22:20.54), and Emma Sweeney in 49th (22:26.00).
Finishing just outside the top-50 and rounding out the Wildcat seven-runner lineup was Dani VanLente, who placed 56th with a time of 22:38.43.
As a team, the Wildcats finished in 4th with 160 team points, which placed them behind the winner Grand Valley State (25), as well as Cedarville (87) and Lewis (90). The teams ahead of the Wildcats (who are 4th) are ranked 1-3 in the Midwest Regional, respectively, in the most recent polls. GVSU had three runners in the top four, with Lauren Kiley repeating her GLIAC Championships victory in the Regionals, which helped GVSU to once again secure a team victory.
The top three teams in each region automatically qualify, so after placing 4th, the Wildcats will wait in hopes of securing an at-large bid to the National Champions in Kenosha in two weeks. They last qualified for the National Championships in 2017 through an at-large bid. The Wildcats will look to secure one of the eight remaining at-large bids to compete for the chance at a National Championship.
The National Championship field will be announced on Monday at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
