Cross Country Regional Friday In Peoria

Thursday, November 13 2014 - NCAA Regional Championships (XC)


Panthers set to compete at 12 p.m. in the NCAA Midwest Regional
Men's Cross Country 2014 at OVC Meet
 
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois cross country will compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday afternoon at the Newman Golf Course in Peoria.   The women's 6K race will begin at 12 p.m. (Non) and the men's 10K will follow at 1 p.m.  The race will feature runners from 35 different schools.  This will be the fourth time in the last 11 years that Bradley University has hosted the NCAA Midwest Regional at the Newman Golf Course.
 
The Eastern Illinois women are coming off a second place finish at the OVC Championships on Nov. 1 in Oxford, Ala., running the 5K distance.   Three runners Emily Brelsfoard,Victoria Quarton and Maria Baldwin all earned second team All-OVC honors at the meet.  The Panther women competed at the 6K distance earlier this year in Peoria placing 11th in a field of 30 teams.   Brelsfoard placed 28th at the meet with a time of 22:01.8, the sixth fastest 6K in school history.
 
The EIU men were fifth as a team at the OVC Championships with sophomores Riley McInerney and Paxson Menard leading the way.  A group of four runners finished within eight spots of each other with Joe Calio and Ryan Ballard the other two runners in that mix.   EIU competed in Peoria in mid-October placing 11th of 26 teams.   McInerney was the top Panthers finisher running the 8K distance in a time of 25:26.   This will be EIU's first race at the 10K distance this season.

Friday's women's race will feature two nationally ranked teams in #5 Iowa State and #20 Minnesota in addition to a pair of teams currently receiving votes in the USTFCCCA national poll.  Iowa State has won the last four Midwest Regional crowns on the women's side, including 2010 when Bradley last hosted the event.

The men's 10K race will feature three nationally ranked squads headlined by #4 Oklahoma State.  Tulsa, which is ranked 23rd, and #26 Oklahoma joined the Cowboys in the latest national rankings, while Iowa State received votes.  Three-time national champion Oklahoma State has won the last three Midwest Regionals, but in-state foe Oklahoma claimed the regional championship last time it was held at Newman Golf Course in 2010.

In addition to the top two teams in each race receiving spots in the NCAA Championship, the top four individuals not on a team selected for the NCAA Championship field will advance to Terre Haute, Ind.