NCAA Division III XC Regional Recap

NEW ORLEANS – To say Saturday’s NCAA Division III Cross Country Regionals lived up to the hype would be an understatement.

Each of the 16 races (eight from each gender) delivered close finishes, incredible individual efforts and NCAA qualifiers.

Here are a few of those races that stood out the most. You can see results from Saturday, including the automatic bids from each region, in the chart below.

New England Region (Men): We knew it would be a close competition between No. 2 Williams and No. 5 Amherst. We just didn’t know it would be THAT close. The Ephs edged the Lord Jeffs 67-68 to win the team title. Amherst’s Mohamed Hussein got the individual win, while Williams’ Bijan Mazaheri finished three seconds back. Mazaheri and the Ephs got the last laugh as they also put two other runners in the top-5 to overcome Hussein’s low stick as well as a seventh-place finish for the Lord Jeffs. No. 17 Tufts took third in the team standings, while No. 32 Wesleyan (Conn.) rallied to capture fourth.

Midwest Region (Men): Earlier in the season, UW-Eau Claire stole the national No. 1 ranking from North Central (Ill.). The Blugolds and Cardinals finally raced against each other Saturday to find out who the rightful No. 1 should be. Well, UW-Eau Claire earned the region title and North Central (Ill.) was runner-up. The Blugolds put three runners in the top-6, led by Ryan Mugan and Josh Thorson, who were third and fourth, respectively. UW-Platteville’s Ian LaMere won the individual title by 28 seconds over individual runner-up Zach Plank of North Central (Ill.).

Mideast Region (Women): You better believe No. 1 Johns Hopkins is peaking at the right time. The Blue Jays tuned up for NCAAs with a masterclass performance to win the Mideast Region title. Johns Hopkins sent the first three runners across the finish line – Sophia Meehan (first), Tess Meehan (second), Caroline Smith (third) – and scored a meager 33 points. The Blue Jays will try to win their fourth consecutive NCAA crown on Saturday in Winneconne, Wisconsin.

Great Lakes Region (Men/Women): Parity was the name of the game here, as only two points separated men’s champ No. 12 Wabash from runner-up No. 11 Allegheny (Pa.) and 17 points differentiated the women’s champ No. 12 Hope from third-place Allegheny (Pa.). Oberlin’s Geno Arthur and Calvin’s Lauren Strohbehn won those respective individual races.