Huskies XC Preps for NCAA Midwest Regional
HOUGHTON, Mich. – The postseason continues for the Michigan Tech cross country squads, heading to Evansville, Indiana, for the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning.
The women will run the 6k course at Angel Mounds first at 11 a.m., with the men following with the 10k course at 12:15 p.m. Live results of the meet can be found here.
Michigan Tech began the postseason run with two First Team All-Conference performers Hannah Loughlin (9th place) and Sam Lange (6th place), at the GLIAC Cross Country Championships hosted by the Huskies at the Tech Trails.
In the team race, the women placed fifth overall (113 points) while the men placed fourth (95 points). Along with the low-stick performances, the Huskies saw four Second Team All-Conference honorees in freshman Sophia Rhein (17th place), Anabel Needham (18th place), Nick McKenzie (17th place) and Henry Snider (20th place).
Lange is the highest finisher from the regional meet a year ago, where he placed 15th overall. He is joined by McKenzie, Snider and Stephen Loparo as the lone Huskies who have competed in a regional meet before.
Similarly, Loughlin is the highest-finishing returner from the regional meet on the women's side, capping off her first cross country season with a 41st-place finish a year ago. The Huskies also have regional experience from Mady VanWieren and Needham.
Both teams will bring youth to the regional meet, with eight student-athletes partaking in their first regional meet.
The men will look to Callen Carrier, Ben Conlin, Sam Marshall and Naseem Dhaouadi to help the Huskies' chances of furthering their season.
On the women's side, Tech showcases three true freshmen, Sophia Rhein, Hailee Zimpel and Amyla Eberhart, continuing their run in the postseason. Also joining the regional team for the first time in her career is Cedar Gordon, who placed 47th at the conference meet.
Championship Format:
The top three teams from each regional meet will automatically advance to the championship finals (24 teams total). Ten at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee. There is no limit to the number of at-large teams that may be selected from any given region.
The top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals (16 individuals total). All individuals who finish in the top five at the regional meet and are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championships finals. The next eight individuals will be selected at-large.