The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Zips to Compete at NCAA Great Lakes Cross Country Regional
November 10 | Cross Country
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AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron men's and women's cross country teams will continue their postseason competition on Friday, Nov. 11, traveling to Madison, Wis., for the 2016 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by the University of Wisconsin at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.
The women's 6-kilometer race will begin at 1 p.m. ET, with the men's 10-kilometer race to follow at 2 p.m. ET.
The meet serves as the qualification event for the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.
The top two teams on both the men's and women's side on Friday will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship meet. Following the nine regional meets across the country, 13 additional teams will earn at-large bids following a review of regular-season competition and finish at the regional championships. After teams have been determined, 36 additional individuals per gender are selected to compete at the national meet, including the top four finishers at each regional who are not a member of automatically-selected teams. Two additional individuals are selected at-large by the committee.
The women's field will feature runners from 34 schools, including 10 from the Mid-American Conference in Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami University, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan.
Scheduled to compete for the Zips will be redshirt freshman Mackenzie Andrews (Toowoomba, Australia), sophomore Morgan Buckley (Howland, Ohio), freshman Haley Hess (Curtice, Ohio), redshirt junior Sarah Kupniewski (Erie, Pa.), redshirt sophomore Elizabeth Mosier (Austintown, Ohio), freshman Hannah Pineault (Morgantown, W. Va.) and senior Natalie Zidd (Hinckley, Ohio).
"I am looking forward to the best competition we will face all year at the Great Lakes Regional Meet," said Akron head women's cross country coach David Gramlich. "The women are primed and ready for a great race. I anticipate many season-best performances and a great team race."
A year ago, in the women's 6K race, Jillian Roth led the efforts for Akron crossing the line in a team-best 23:01.7, good for 115th place.
Zidd was the Zips' next finisher after Roth, recording a time of 23:07.0 to finish in 124th place.
Kupniewski, Rachel Audet and Karlie Lieberth rounded out the efforts for Akron turning in times of 23:35.1 (155th place), 25:29.2 (199th place) and 26:55.9 (207th place), respectively.
The men's field will feature runners from 31 schools, including eight from the Mid-American Conference in Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami University, Ohio and Toledo.
Tentatively scheduled to compete for the Zips will be freshman Samuel Blechman (Bradford Woods, Pa.), redshirt freshmen Tevin Brown (Toledo, Ohio) and Nick Campbell (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), juniors Garrett Crichlow (Twinsburg, Ohio) and Eric McCabe (Hilliard, Ohio), sophomore Joe Rossetti (Stow, Ohio), freshman Nick Stricklen (Lexington, Ohio) and seniors Martin Zegarelli (Erie, Pa.) and Dan Zupan (Berea, Ohio).
"We're excited to run at regionals and see how well this team can do," Akron head men's cross country coach Lee LaBadie commented.
In 2015, the Akron men's cross country team recorded a program-best seventh-place finish and a trio of top-50 performances by Kyle Cochrun, Clayton Murphy and Aaron Howkins.
Cochrun led the way for the Zips in the 10K race earning a 14th-place performance crossing the line in the 10K in 31:02.7. Murphy crossed the line in 31:13.5 to place 20th, while Howkins turned in a 37th-place effort with a time of 31:37.2. By virtue of their top-25 finishes, Cochrun and Murphy earned All-Great Lakes Regional accolades.
Rounding off the Akron scoring performances was Zupan and Crichlow, who recorded times of 32:15.1 (59th place) and 32:35.7 (79th place), respectively.
The Zips are coming off their efforts at the MAC Cross Country Championship on Oct. 29 in Kent, Ohio, where Crichlow and Mosier headlined the efforts of the Akron men's and women's cross country squads.
The Zips' men's team placed sixth, while the women finished 11th.
Crichlow was the first non-Eastern Michigan runner to finish the 8K course in the men's race sprinting past the line in 25:30.0 to finish sixth. By virtue of his sixth-place effort, Crichlow garnered first-team All-MAC honors.
In the women's 6K race, Mosier cover the course in 22:52.8 to earn a 44th-place finish.
Rossetti and Brown were next across the finish for the Zips' men's team registering times of 26:16.7 and 26:21.6 to place 29th and 31st, respectively.
Rounding out Akron's scoring efforts were Zupan (26:29.0/36th) and McCabe (26:44.9/42nd).
Andrews and Hess followed Mosier across the finish line for the Zips' women's squad recording times of 22:57.6 (50th) and 23:13.5 (65th).
Completing Akron's scoring runners was Zidd (23:27.6/74th) and Pineault (23:32.0/78th).
Players Mentioned
