XC Men Take 13th, Women Place 17th at NCAA Regionals

MADISON, Wisconsin – The Marquette men's cross country team placed 13^th while the women's team took 17^th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in Madison, Wisconsin on Friday afternoon. The men's team had 395 points while the women's team finished with 464.

"The goal was for our runners to go out hard and not leave anything on the course," Interim head coach Sean Birren said. "We had multiple runners who had aspirations of top-25 finishes. Although they didn't get there, we had a lot of kids stick their nose in there and run really well."

The meet, hosted by the University of Wisconsin at the Thomas Zimmer National Cross Country Course, saw 29 teams competing in the men's 10k race and 31 competing in the women's 6k race. Six Big Ten teams and three BIG EAST teams (including Marquette) took part in the regional.

Purdue finished as the NCAA Great Lakes Regional champion for the men with 79 points. The Boilermakers had all five runners finish in the top 25 overall. Notre Dame (85 points) placed second while Michigan (86 points) rounded out top three. Butler placed seventh (197 points), finishing first among BIG EAST competitors. Cincinnati's Aaron Bienenfeld took home the regional title with a time of 29:59.9.

Seniors Daniel Pederson and Ryan Burd completed their outstanding seasons by setting personal-best marks in the 10k in their final collegiate cross country event. Pederson took 56^th overall (31:52.4) and beat his previous 10k best by 13 seconds. Burd finished right behind him in 58^th place with a time of 31:54.3, beating his previous best by 51 seconds.

Fellow senior Brad Eagan placed 89th in his fourth and final regional appearance as a Golden Eagle. He finished in the top-100 in each of his four Great Lakes Regional races. August Beyer (92nd), Jordan Janusiak (138^th) and Greg Van Hollen (145^th) each took part in their first collegiate regional today and placed among the top seven for MU.

Junior Alex Gill set a personal best and placed fifth among all MU runners (99^th overall) with a time of 32:42.3. MU's top seven runners all finished within 1:50 of one another as they made their best to their best finish in four seasons.

"We probably left about 75 points on the guys side," Birren said. "We had a couple kids start out too hard and it cost them in the end as they ran out of gas a little bit. We still had three guys run PR's and our seniors got to close out their college careers successfully today."

On the women's side, Michigan State took home the regional title with 49 points. The Michigan Wolverines (74 points) took runner-up honors while Wisconsin (100 points) placed third. UW's Alicia Monson placed first overall individually with a time of 19:59.9.

Emily Foley paced the MU women, finishing 84^th overall with a time of 22:07.5. The top five Golden Eagles runners all finished within 15 seconds of one another, just 13 places apart. Sophomore Lauren Neiheisel placed 88^th overall, finishing less than three seconds behind Foley.

Senior captain Catilin McGauley placed 92nd, besting her 112^th-place finish at last year's Great Lakes Regional. Following McGauley was sophomore Kendall Pfrimmer, who set a 6k personal best with a time of 22:18.9. Freshmen Kate Jochims (22:21.8) and Hannah Ray (24:15.5) finished 101st and 181st, respectively, in their first regional appearance while senior Kalina Gardiner closed out her MU cross country career with a time of 23:28.1.

"I'm definitely proud of how our student-athletes have competed all year," Birren said. "Both teams took a significant step forward from last year and left everything they had on the course."

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The top-two teams in each of the NCAA's nine regions advance to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on Nov. 23, along with 13 additional at-large teams selected by the NCAA. Each of the top-25 individual finishers at Friday's meet received all-region recognition with the top-four individuals not on a qualifying team advancing to the NCAA Championships.

UP NEXT FOR MU:
As the 2019 cross country season comes to a close, the indoor track and field season is right around the corner. MU will head to the Blue & Gold Invitational at Notre Dame on Friday, Dec. 6 to kick off its 2019-20 season.

MEN'S RACE:
13^th of 29 (270 Runners)
56. Daniel Pederson: 31:52.4*
58. Ryan Burd: 31:54.3*
89. Brad Eagan: 32:32.0
92. August Beyer: 32:36.5
99. Alex Gill: 32:43.3*
138. Jordan Janusiak: 33:31.4
145. Greg Van Hollen: 33:42.0

WOMEN'S RACE:
17^th of 31 (215 Runners)
84. Emily Foley: 22:07.5
88. Lauren Neiheisel: 22:10.4
92. Caitlin McGauley: 22:12.9
97. Kendall Pfrimmer: 22:18.9*
103. Kate Jochims: 22:21.8
159. Kalina Gardiner: 23:28.1
181. Hannah Ray: 24:15.5

*Personal Best

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