HILLSDALE, Mich. -- The Grand Valley State Lakers once again swept the team competitions at the 2018 NCAA Division II Midwest Regionals on Saturday (Nov. 16) hosted by Hillsdale College.
The GVSU men recorded a score of 38 points to dominate the men's competition for the 17th consecutive year while Saginaw Valley finished second with 92 points. GVSU's Zach Panning finished runner-up crossing the finish line with a time of 31:19.76 to continue his impressive career. Panning's teammate Enael Woldemichael placed third, while Saginaw Valley's Tom Goforth finished fourth. GLIAC Freshman of the Year GVSU's Tanner Chada took sixth with Ferris State's Damien Halverson finishing seventh, Lake Superior's David Mitter crossing the line in eighth and Saginaw Valley's Nate Frasier recording a ninth place showing.
The Laker women then won their 18th consecutive regional title with a total of 26 points putting all five scorers inside Top 11 while Michigan Tech (116) finished third. Grand Valley State's Sarah Berger earned the regional title crossing the line first in a time of 21:05.92 followed by her teammates Gina Patterson in second and Allie Ludge in fourth. Ferris State's Kathryn Etelamaki placed sixth, while GVSU's Madison Goen took eight, Saginaw Valley's Allison Door claimed ninth and Michigan Tech's Emily Byrd rounded out the Top 10 finishers.
The Division II NCAA National Championships will take place December 1st and will be held at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh. The top three programs in each race and the top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the national meet. Further details below:
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION DETAIL:
TEAMS
The top three teams from each regional meet will automatically advance to the championship finals (24 teams total).
Ten (10) at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee using the selection criteria found here. There is no limit to the number of at-large teams that may be selected from any given region.
INDIVIDUALS
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.
