Titans Run To Seventh-Place NCAA Regional Finish

Hannah Kuenzi finished 34th and Kylee Verhasselt 36th to lead UW-Oshkosh to a seventh-place showing at the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Midwest Regional held Saturday (Nov. 15) at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne.

Kuenzi completed the 6,000-meter course in a time of 22:21 and Verhasselt in 22:25. Verhasselt placed 35th in last year's Midwest Regional. The Titans also had three other individuals finish inside the top 55. Isabella Tremonti placeed 42nd in a time of 22:39, Sonny Jenkins 43rd in 22:40 and Danica Harrison 55th in 22:55.

Also competing for UW-Oshkosh were Leah Rendflesh and Cheyenne Moore. Rendflesh finished 62nd with a time of 22:59 and Moore 73rd in 23:06.

Washington University (Mo.) claimed the team title at the Midwest Regional meet with 62 points. The Bears, who finished third at the Midwest Regional last season, won their first regional title since 2011. UW-La Crosse placed second, repeating its result from last year. Both Washington University and UW-La Crosse earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship that will be held on Nov. 22 in Mason, Ohio.

The University of Chicago, the defending Midwest Regional champion, placed third with 99 points. In fourth place was North Central College (Ill.) with 149 points and in fifth place was UW-Eau Claire with 168.

Rounding out the top 10 were Wheaton College (Ill.) in sixth place with 172 points, Aurora University (Ill.) in eighth with 241, UW-Stevens Point in ninth with 252, and UW-Stout in 10th with 252.

Senior Lucy Cheadle of Washington University repeated as the Midwest Regional champion, as she won the race of 281 runners in a time of 20:55. Cheadle took second at the regional in 2012. In fourth place was Cheadle's teammate Ellen Toennies in 21:30.

Also in the top five individual finshers were Emma Shunk of Wheaton College in second place with a time of 21:05, Laura Mead of UW-La Crosse third in 21:21 and Catherine Young of the University of Chicago fifth in 21:38. Young, the second-highest returning finisher behind Cheadle, placed third at last year's regional meet.

Last year, the WIAC had UW-La Crosse, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls in the top 10 at the Midwest Regional meet. This year's regional provided similar returns for WIAC teams in the top 10, with the addition of UW-Stout and the absence of UW-River Falls, which placed 32nd.

NCAA Division III Midwest Regional Post-Meet Press Conference