Michigan
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
VanderLende Leads Wolverine Women to 3rd at NCAA Regional
11/11/2022 1:41:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Site:Â Terre Haute, Ind. Â
Event:Â NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Distance:Â 6 Kilometers (3.73 Miles)
U-M Team Finish:Â 3rd of 31 teams (116 points)
Top U-M Individual: Ericka VanderLende --Â 13th Place (20:17.9)
Next U-M Event:Â Saturday, Nov. 12 -- NCAA Championships Selection Show (NCAA.com), 5 p.m.
• Complete Results (PDF) | Photo Gallery
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan women's cross country team had a great team race with six racers in the top 35 to finish in third place at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on Friday (Nov. 11).
The Wolverines entered the race as the 4th team in the region behind No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 17 Toledo and No. 19 Michigan State with No. 22 Wisconsin and  No. 25 Ohio State close behind them in the rankings. Michigan was able to finish ahead of Toledo, Michigan State and Wisconsin but finished with 116 points behind Notre Dame (33 points) and Ohio State (111 points).
Senior Ericka VanderLende finished in 13th place, taking the top spot for the Maize and Blue with a time of 20:17.9. VanderLende started out strong and was in 14th after 2K. She worked her way up to tie for 8th at the 4K mark but fell back to 13th to finish the race. VanderLende's efforts earned her All-Region honors.
The next finisher was senior Sam Tran who had her typical race. Tran started out slow but passed racers throughout and ended in 22nd to earn All-Region honors. Fifth-year Samantha Saenz ran a career-best time again beating her time from the Big Ten Championships by 12 seconds with a time of 20:35.1, coming in as Michigan's third runner and 23rd overall earning All-Region Honors as well.
The Wolverines rounded out their top five with fifth-year Kayla Windemuller and graduate student Danielle Page who finished 27th and 31st respectively. Page ran a career-best time with a time of 20:53.1. Junior Katelynne Hart finished 33rd overall and graduate student Cassie Kearney was the last runner for the Wolverines, who finished 59th overall.
After 2K, the top 25 were separated by 10 seconds, with the gap widening to 27 seconds separating the top 25 at the 4K mark. At the finish line, the top 25 were separated by 46 seconds.
The Wolverines now await their fate with the NCAA Selection show coming tomorrow at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com to see if they will earn a trip to Stillwater, Okla. The Wolverines are in a strong position to earn an at-large bid heading into the selection show.
Full Michigan Results
13. Ericka VanderLende -- 20:17.9
22. Sam Tran -- 20:34.3
23. Samantha Saenz -- 20:35.1
27. Kayla Windemuller -- 20:43.9
31. Danielle Page -- 20:53.1
33. Katelynne Hart -- 20:56.0
59. Cassie Kearney -- 21:22.2
Team Results
1. No. 5 Notre Dame -- 33 points
2. No. 25 Ohio State -- 111 points
3. No. 21 Michigan -- 116 points
4. No. 19 Michigan State -- 124 points
5. No. 22 Wisconsin -- 129 points
6. No. 17 Toledo -- 131 points
7. Indiana -- 164 points
8. Butler -- 267 points
9. Purdue -- 307 points
10. Ohio -- 313 points
11. Miami (Ohio) -- 339 points
12. Cincinnati -- 352 points
13. Western Michigan -- 367 points
14. Dayton -- 417 points
15. Eastern Michigan -- 420 points
16. Milwaukee -- 501 points
17. Central Michigan -- 508 points
18. Bowling Green -- 517 points
19. Xavier -- 524 points
20. Oakland -- 603 points
21. Youngstown State -- 614 points
22. Ball State -- 690 points
23. Kent State -- 706 points
24. Akron -- 712 points
25. Marquette -- 726 points
26. IUPUI -- 744 points
27. Indiana State -- 780 points
28. Wisconsin- Green Bay -- 807 points
29. Wright State -- 826 points
30. Detroit Mercy -- 845 points
31. Valparaiso -- 916 points
Players Mentioned
