Michigan
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Wolverines Place Second at Regional, Qualify for 18th Straight NCAAs
11/15/2019 3:53:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Site: Madison, Wis. (Thomas Zimmer Championship Course)
Event: NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Distance: Six Kilometers (3.73 miles)
U-M Team Finish: 2nd place of 31 teams (74 points)
Top U-M Individual: Ericka VanderLende, 4th (20:08.1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 23 -- at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11:15 a.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team qualified for the NCAA Championships for the 18th year in a row based on its runner-up performance Friday (Nov. 15) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The Wolverines finished with 74 points in what was arguably the toughest of the nine regional championships nationwide.
Though Michigan missed out on a fifth straight Great Lakes Regional title, it was able to secure the region's second and final automatic qualifying berth to next Saturday's (Nov. 23) NCAA Championships. Michigan's 18-year run of appearances at nationals is the third-longest active streak in the nation.
Ericka VanderLende led the way among a region-best and program-record-tying six USTFCCCA all-region (top-25) honorees for the Wolverines as she finished fourth, covering the six-kilometer (3.73-mile) Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in 20:08.1.
Michigan has had six top-25 finishers in six previous seasons, most recently in 2015.
Rounding out Michigan's scoring lineup -- comprised of its top five runners -- were 14th-place Anna West (20:46.0), 15th-place Kathryn House (20:47.2), 18th-place Micaela DeGenero (20:51.0) and 23rd-place Emma Sloan (20:56.1). Maddy Trevisan also earned all-region honors with a 25th-place finish in 20:58.5.
The top spot in the team standings went to No. 6 Michigan State with 49 points, with No. 7 Wisconsin (100 points), No. 20 Ohio State (134) and No. 16 Notre Dame (144) completing the top five.
As they have all season long, the main Wolverine pack grouped up well behind the frontrunning VanderLende.
Though VanderLende was nearly 40 seconds clear of the rest of the lineup in the front pack, the rest of Michigan's top five finished within 10.1 seconds of one another as they crossed the line. Michigan's sixth and seventh runners -- Trevisan and 35th-place Camille Davre -- were not much farther behind as they came through the chute within another 16 seconds.
That pack netted Michigan the best time spreads between its No. 1 and 5 runners (48.0) and No. 1 and 7 runners (64.0) of any team in the race.
As she has all season long, VanderLende put herself right at the front of the race from the start and stayed there throughout the full six kilometers. Though the race was relatively closely packed through the first three kilometers, the field started to spread out in the second half.
By four kilometers, the lead group had shrunk to seven women with VanderLende running second alongside All-Americans and national title contenders. She was not able to respond to the move made by Big Ten champion Alicia Monson of Wisconsin and Michigan State's Annie Fuller in the closing stretch, but she still kicked strong on the uphill finish to come through fourth.
West had her best race of the season in a 14th-place finish, moving up a team-best four spots in the final two kilometers to take 14th. She established herself in 15th in the early going and held firm throughout.
House's breakthrough season continued as she netted the first all-region honor of her career. She took the race out strong early and gave away on five positions throughout the final four kilometers.
DeGenero also built on what is becoming a breakthrough season of her own. After coming through the 2K split in 36th, she ran down 15 opponents by the 4K split and chased down an another three en route to the 6K finish line. Her mid-race move was the 14th-biggest in the field from 2K-4K.
Sloan managed to hold on for all-region honors, slipping 12 spots in the final four kilometers after going out early with the lead pack. Trevisan bounced back from a disappointing showing at Big Tens to earn her third career all-region honor.
Michigan Results
4. Ericka VanderLende -- 20:08.1
14. Anna West -- 20:46.0
15. Kathryn House -- 20:47.2
18. Micaela DeGenero -- 20:51.0
23. Emma Sloan -- 20:56.1
25. Maddy Trevisan -- 20:58.5
35. Camille Davre -- 21:12.1
Team Standings
1. No. 6 Michigan State -- 49 points
2. No. 11 MICHIGAN -- 74
3. No. 7 Wisconsin -- 100
4. No. 20 Ohio State -- 134
5. No. 16 Notre Dame -- 144
6. (RV) Indiana -- 175
7. No. 24 Butler -- 234
8. Purdue -- 280
9. Eastern Michigan -- 283
10. Xavier (Ohio) -- 320
11. Cincinnati -- 374
12. Miami (Ohio) -- 386
13. Oakland -- 393
14. Akron -- 411
15. Dayton -- 423
16. Toledo -- 433
17. Marquette -- 464
18. Milwaukee -- 516
19. Ball State -- 533
20. Youngstown State -- 590
21. Wright State -- 591
22. Western Michigan -- 599
23. IUPUI -- 604
24. Indiana State -- 610
25. Ohio -- 652
26. Bowling Green -- 671
27. Evansville -- 820
28. Valparaiso -- 851
29. Cleveland State -- 869
30. Purdue Fort Wayne -- 940
31. Wisconsin-Green Bay -- 971
Players Mentioned
