Recap: 2021 NCAA DIII Cross Country Regional Championships Saturday

Welcome to Regional Championships Saturday!

We’re about to find out which teams earn automatic bids to the upcoming 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 20, at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | USTFCCCA Scoreboard

We’ll keep track of which teams earned automatic bids to the Bluegrass State in the table below.

If you want to find out what happened in those ten Regional Championships, you’re in luck!

Scroll below to learn more about an exciting day of racing.

East Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: MIT

No. 3 MIT imposed its will on Saturday at Franklin Park. The Engineers put all five of their scoring athletes in the top-7 and romped to the team title with 23 points. Not only that, but MIT had a 1-5 spread of just three seconds! No. 17 Colby, led by individual champion Tyler Morris, finished a distant runner-up with 67 points. No. 26 Tufts took third with 118 points, while No. 32 Bates (126) and WPI (153) rounded out the top-5 teams.

Morris won going away, covering the 8k tract in 25:01 – 37 seconds faster than runner-up Andrew Mah of MIT (25:38). A blanket finish ensued for the next four spots as Finn Jacobson-Schul of MIT (third), Matyas Cskiki-Fejer of Suffolk (N.Y.) (fourth), Matthew Kearney of MIT (fifth) and Reid Kovacs of MIT (sixth) all finished at 25:41.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Tufts

With six nationally-ranked programs in the mix, the race for the team title promised to be exciting. Well, when No. 14 Tufts edged No. 11 MIT for the team title, 59-65, that projection proved true. The Jumbos put three runners in the top-7 and then two more in the top-30, as they overcame the Engineers placing their entire scoring lineup in the top-20. Each of the next two teams – No. 16 Bates (87) and No. 26 Brandeis (89) – had two top-10 finishers, while No. 24 Wellesley ended up fifth with an individual champion to show for it in Ari Marks.

Marks traversed the 6k course in 21:17, 15 seconds faster than runner-up Danielle Page of Tufts. Anna Slager of Tufts finished a distant third in 22:18. Jillian Richardson of MIT took fourth in 22:35 with Olivia Rosenstein (fifth) and Izzi Gengaro (sixth) both credited with 22:40.

Great Lakes Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: John Carroll

No. 6 John Carroll followed Alex Phillip’s lead and cruised to the top of the podium in the Great Lakes Region. Phillip won the individual title in 24:27.4 – 23 seconds ahead of the runner-up – and the Blue Streaks earned a 17-point win over No. 13 Otterbein. The Cardinals flocked across the finish line with three runners in the top-10 and finished with 89 points. No. 28 Case Western Reserve came on strong late to finish third with 107 points, while No. 30 Calvin (120) and Mount Union (163) rounded out the top-5 in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Simon Heys of Wilmington (Ohio) took runner-up honors behind Phillip in 24:40.4 with Trey Razandauskas of Case Western Reserve (24:42.7) and Cal Yackin of Otterbein (24:44.2) not too far behind in third and fourth place, respectively. Nick Hoffman of Hope rounded out the top-5 individuals with a time of 24:47.5.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Hope

No. 10 Hope rose to the top of the podium in the Great Lakes Region. The Flying Dutch put two runners in the top-10 and held off No. 13 Calvin, 98-121. The Knights, who closed strong, had two top-15 finishers of their own. No. 23 John Carroll ended up a close third with 125 points, while No. 25 Case Western Reserve (164) and No. 32 Trine (181) duked it out for the final two spots in the top-5 with No. 21 Allegheny (Pa.) right behind them with 183 points.

Evie Bultemeyer of Trine captured the individual title in 21:16.2, nearly 36 seconds ahead of runner-up Anastasia Tucker of Hope in 21:52.1. Sadie Heeringa of Calvin moved up four spots in the final 3k to finish third in 22:02.8, while Jana Fisher of Case Western Reserve was fourth in 22:05.1 and Tessa Pitcovich of Ohio Northern was fifth in 22:08.1.

Metro Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: Haverford

No. 21 Haverford pulled away at the 3 mile split and cruised to victory on Saturday. The Fords were tied with eventual runner-up No. 35 TCNJ at the 1 mile mark, but put 24 points between them and their opponent by the next split and opened it up to as many as 57 at the 7.2k mark before winning by 49 points (50-99). Swarthmore (116) ended up third, followed by Rowan (121) in fourth and Ramapo (145) in fifth.

Chris Andersen of Ramapo captured the individual title in 25:03.2 and was joined in the top-3 by teammate Steven Fuimefreddo in third at 25:12.8. Ryan Kredell (second, 25:08.9) and Max Brelig (25:21.2) gave Haverford a solid 1-2 punch, while Aidan Cantine of Swarthmore rounded out the top-5 individuals in 25:27.9.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Haverford

No. 27 Haverford saw three of its five scoring athletes finish in the top-10, as it won the team title in the Metro Region with 88 points. Isabella Miller and Angelina Petrichenko gave the Fords an unbeatable 1-2 as they finished first and second, respectively. Swarthmore took runner-up honors with 102 points thanks to two top-10 athletes of their own. Widener was third with 110 points, followed by TCNJ in fourth (149) and Moravian in fifth (176).

Miller covered the 6k course in 21:24.1, just about five seconds faster than Petrichenko in 21:29.0. Abigail Dalton of Muhlenberg was third in 21:50.9, while Natalie Stabilito of Moravian was fourth in 22:24.1 and Nore Blodgett of Swarthmore was fifth in 22:26.4.

Mid-Atlantic Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: Carnegie Mellon

No. 11 Carnegie Mellon made it look easy on Saturday, as it put all five of its scoring athletes in the top-10 and rolled to the team title with 30 points. No. 22 Johns Hopkins, which finished a clear runner-up, only had one top-10 athlete, but sent four across the finish line between Nos. 12-17. RV Dickinson took third with 117 points, while Messiah (137) and Elizabethtown (159) rounded out the top-5 teams.

Christopher Scharf of Dickinson captured the individual title in 25:51.6, more than 30 seconds ahead of runner-up Matthew Karee of Carnegie Mellon (26:24.1). Karee’s teammate Michael Obroin finished third in 26:28.8, followed by Matthew Kleiman of Johns Hopkins (26:29.2) and Logan Horst of Messiah (26:33.9), who likely secured an individual bid to NCAAs.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Johns Hopkins

No. 1 Johns Hopkins made quick work of the competition on Saturday, finishing just shy of a perfect score with 20 points thanks to a 2-3-4-5-6 finish. The Blue Jays saw Alex Ross (second, 22:56.2), Katharine Priu (third, 23:01.1), Ashley Heidenrich (fourth, 23:09.9), Sara Stephenson (fifth, 23:12.8) and Sydney Fridel (sixth, 23:13.0) all soar across the finish line within 12 seconds of each other. No. 12 Dickinson, led by individual champion Isabel Cardi, beat No. 17 Carnegie Mellon in a tiebreaker, as both teams finished with 88 points. Susquehanna (205) and Misericordia (222) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Cardi might have never broken a sweat, as she dominated the field. She led from the gun and eventually won by 43.2 seconds. Despite JHU putting five athletes in the top-10, six different programs had a top-10 finisher: Lauren Wick of Lebanon Valley was seventh; Aubrey Wingeart of Waynesburg was eighth; Kallan Carter of Susquehanna was ninth; Jessica Hoffman of Scranton was tenth.

Mideast Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: Williams

No. 4 Williams captured the regional title with 54 points. The Ephs quickly jumped to the lead after sweeping the top-3 spots on the podium, as Aidan Ryan (24:35.8), Elias Lindgren (24:46.6) and Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos (24:55.5) finished 1-2-3. No. 12 Middlebury took runner-up honors with 68 points and placed all five scoring athletes in the top-25, including a seventh-place finish by Zander Kessler (25:14.9). No. 19 RPI (82), No. 25 Vassar (121) and No. 33 Amherst (129) rounded out the top-5.

Finishing behind the trio of Ephs was John Reed of RPI (25:09.9) in fourth and Matt Carter of Connecticut College (25:11.5) in fifth.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Williams

The battle for the Mideast Region crown between No. 9 Williams and No. 15 Middlebury saw the Ephs emerge victorious with 90 points. The Ephs held a two point advantage over the Panthers through four runners, 63-65, and took the victory when their fifth runner, Madeline Lawler, came across the line in 27th. Middlebury finished second with 99 points, while No. 30 Amherst (102), No. 28 Smith (134) and Mount Holyoke (139) rounded out the top-5.

Genna Girard of Williams won the individual title in 21:36.0 for a 10.1-second victory over Middlebury’s Cassie Kearney, who finished second in 21:46.1. Mary Kate McGranahan of Amherst (21:50.5) and Lauren Selkin of Mount Holyoke (22:00.7) placed third and fourth, respectively, while Sidnie Kulik of Amherst (21:50.5) came in fifth.

Midwest Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: Wartburg

No. 1 Wartburg showed why it’s the top team in the nation on Saturday. The Knights, led by a 1-2 finish by Joe Freiburger and Christopher Collet, romped to the team title in the Midwest Region with 38 points. Freiburger and Collet were two of four Wartburg athletes to finish in the top-10 at Saukie Golf Course. No. 14 Washington (Mo.) took runner-up honors with 86 points, just ahead of No. 9 North Central (Ill.) with 90 points. No. 18 UChicago ended up fourth with 104 points thanks to a 3-4 finish by Sam Craig and Henry Myers. No. 16 Loras rounded out the top-5 teams in fifth with 148 points.

Freiburger asserted himself early and rolled to a near eight-second victory in 24:19.5. Collet was second in 24:27.2, followed by Craig and Myers in 24:30.4 and 24:32.3, respectively. Gabriel Pommier of North Central (Ill.) finished fifth in 24:36.0.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Wartburg

No. 3 Wartburg won a hotly-contested team battle in the only regional race that featured three top-10 teams. The Knights put three runners in the top-5 – all in the top-22 – as they fought off No. 4 Washington (Mo.) by a final score of 34-43 with No. 7 UChicago third with 70 points. The Bears made a run at it, though, thanks to four top-10 athletes in spots 6-7-8-9. The Maroons had three runners in the top-15, but couldn’t match the top-end depth of Wartburg or WashU. Loras ended up fourth with 151 points, while No. 34 Elmhurst took fifth with 183 points.

Kassie Parker of Loras wouldn’t be denied the individual title, as she won by more than 40 seconds in 20:50.6. Aubrie Fisher of Wartburg earned runner-up honors in 21:32.1 with teammates Carina Collet (fourth, 21:42.1) and Riley Mayer (fifth, 21:43.1) denied a pair of top-4 finishes by Claudia Hartnett of UChicago (third, 21:34.4).

Niagara Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: SUNY Geneseo

No. 6 SUNY Geneseo cruised to an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships, placing all five scorers in the top-8 for a low total of 28 points. For the Knights – who also added finishers No. 10 and No. 12 – this is the 11th AQ in the last 12 years after previously competing in the former Atlantic Region. A real team battle ensued for the runner-up position, taken by Rochester (122) over Hamilton (127) and RV Ithaca (132). SUNY Cortland (167) completed the top-5

Ryan Cory of SUNY Cortland captured the individual crown, clocking 25:27.7 on the 8k course ahead of runner-up Ethan Carey of Brockport (25:31.0). Ezra Ruggles of SUNY Geneseo (25:35.7) edged teammate Nick Andrews by 0.3 second for third place, while Ithaca’s Ben Tiber (25:37.1) was fifth.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: SUNY Geneseo

No one could touch the 1-2-3 of No. 9 SUNY Geneseo, as the team sizzled to a winning score of 19 points. It’s a sixth-straight title for the Knights, whose previous five came in the old Atlantic Region from 2015-19. Rochester (N.Y.) was second with 70 points, followed by Ithaca (120), Hamilton (166) and St. John Fisher (177).

Windsor Ardner led the SUNY Geneseo 1-2-3 in 22:10.7, with Kathleen McCarey (22:12.0) and Penelope Greene (22:57.0) completing the trio. Riley Corey of St. John Fisher (23:08.0) and SUNY Geneseo’s Rachel Hirschkind (23:16.8) rounded out the top-5 individuals.

North Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: UW-Whitewater

A thrilling competition seemed to have no end. No. 10 UW-Whitewater edged WIAC rival No. 8 UW-La Crosse by the thinnest of margins, 58-59, to earn the strong region’s lone automatic qualifying berth to the NCAA Championships. Both teams had incredible top-end strength: UWW went 1-2-6 to stake an early lead over UW-La Crosse’s 3-7-8. The Eagles gained momentum on better top-4 depth (13 vs. 24), but the Warhawks closed just well enough (25 vs. a 28 by UW-La Crosse) to earn the title. No. 27 UW-Oshkosh (124), No. 29 UW-Eau Claire (139) and No. 24 St. Olaf (167) completed the top-5, all ahead of No. 15 Carleton (7th, 198).

UWW’s 1-2 of David Fassbender (24:34.1) and Christian Patzka (24:34.5) was followed individually by Ethan Gregg of UW-La Crosse (24:40.4), Logan Bocovich of St. Olaf (24:41.8) and Lloyd Young of St. John’s (Minn.) (24:43.2) in completing the top-5.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: UW-La Crosse

With three runners finishing in the top-10 and all five scorers in the top-15, No. 8 UW-La Crosse strode to the team title with 50 points. No. 18 UW-Eau Claire (85) edged No. 20 Carleton (91) for runner-up honors, while No. 19 St. Olaf (124) and No. 32 UW-Oshkosh (178) rounded out the top-5.

St. Benedict’s Fiona Smith was unmatched individually, winning by more than 27 seconds in 20:57.3. Clara Mayfield of Carleton was runner-up in 21:24.5, followed by Hannah Lohrenz of UW-Oshkosh (22:07.8), Emma Malooly of UW-La Crosse (22:20.7) and Carolyn Shult of UW-Eau Claire (22:21.9).

South Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: Emory

No. 20 Emory rolled to the regional title with 47 points. The Eagles placed all five runners in the top-15, including two runners posting top-5 finishes. No. 23 Lynchburg, led by individual champion Maximillian Sparks, finished second with 80 points. Christopher Newport came in third with 110 points, while Berry (139) and RV Washington and Lee (141) rounded out the top-5.

Sparks won the individual crown in 25:17.8 for a five-second victory over Southern Virginia’s Dylan May (25:23.8). Bradshaw Lathbury of Berry came in third (25:25.4), followed by Emory’s duo of Brett Lucas (fourth; 25:26.0) and Spencer Moore (fifth; 25:27.2).

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Emory

No. 22 Emory romped to the South Region title with 31 points. The Eagles, led by individual champion Annika Urban, placed all five of their scoring runners in the top-12. No. 31 Lynchburg was the clear runner-up with 54 points and had two runners finish among the top-5. RV Washington and Lee (116), Christopher Newport (126) and Rhodes (217) rounded out the top-5.

It was all Eagles and Hornets in the top-5 of the individual race. Urban traversed the 6k course in 21:43.1 to win by more than a minute. Stephanie Burnett of Lynchburg was the runner-up in 22:43.8. Bella Racette of Emoery (22:46.8) was third, followed by the Hornets’ Kelsey Lagunas (22:48.4) and the Eagles’ Liesl Scherrer (22:52.8) in fourth and fifth, respectively.

West Region

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Men’s 8k Championship

Regional Champion: Pomona-Pitzer

No. 2 Pomona-Pitzer withstood a strong challenge from No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, but emerged victorious in the West Region with 35 points. Depth won out for the Sagehens, as they sent all five of their scoring athletes across the finish line in the top-10. The Stags had the better 1-2 with Stevie Steinberg and Henry Pick finishing first and second, respectively, but their Nos. 3-5 runners were in 16^th, 21^st and 24^th place. No. 34 UC Santa Cruz ended up third with 134 points, followed by George Fox (152) and Lewis & Clark (188) in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Steinberg and Pick worked together the entire race and crossed the finish line just 0.6 seconds apart: Steinberg in 24:47.3; Pick in 24:47.9. Benjamin White of Whittier finished third in 24:59.1, followed by Ethan Widlansky of Pomona-Pitzer (25:05.7) and Tucker Cargile of Redlands (25:07.3) in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Women’s 6k Championship

Regional Champion: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps made a statement on Saturday at the West Region Championships. The Athenas put four runners in the top-6 – their entire contingent in the top-16 – and romped to an 88-point win over No. 5 Pomona-Pitzer. Meredith Bloss (second), Natalie Bitetti (third), Emily Clarke (fourth) and Riley Harmon (sixth) were those top-6 finishers for CMS. The Sagehens had two top-7 finishers with individual champion Genevieve DiBari and Claire LeBlanc in seventh. No. 29 Colorado College ended up third with 132 points, followed by UC Santa Cruz in fourth with 144 points and George Fox in fifth with 162 points.

DiBari covered the 6k course in 21:48.5, nearly six seconds faster than Bloss. Elliot Singer of Colorado College finished fifth in 22:10.6 behind that aforementioned trio of Athenas.