Evlyn Noone was an eighth-place finisher during her Midwest Regional debut.
Evlyn Noone was an eighth-place finisher during her Midwest Regional debut.

Titans Finish 10th At NCAA Midwest Regional

Evlyn Noone placed eighth among 255 runners and UW-Oshkosh 10th in a field of 36 teams at the NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Midwest Regional held Saturday (Nov. 10) at the Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax.

Noone, a graduate student who is competing in her first collegiate season, finished the 6,000-meter race with a time of 22:06 to rank as UW-Oshkosh's top runner for the sixth time this year. Noone shaved 18 seconds off her sixth-place time of 22:24 recorded at the Whitetail Golf Course during the WIAC Championship held Oct. 27.

Hannah Roeske of Wheaton College (Ill.) won Saturday's individual title with a time of 21:22. Paige Lawler of Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) finished second in 21:24 while Hannah Beilke of UW-La Crosse placed third with 21:28, Sadie Kroll of UW-La Crosse fourth with 21:46 and Sam Slattery of UW-Eau Claire fifth with 21:59.

Washington University in St. Louis owned the next two runners as Sophie Watterson finished sixth and Aly Wayne seventh with times of 22:01 and 22:03, respectively. Noone followed in eighth place while Jessica Petruzates of UW-Stout finished ninth in 22:07 and Sophia Elgamal of University of Chicago (Ill.) 10th in 22:09.

UW-Oshkosh compiled 306 points en route to its 10th-place finish. The Titans were sandwiched between two of their WIAC rivals as UW-Platteville finished ninth with 272 points and UW-River Falls 11th with 313. UW-Oshkosh placed 12th at the 2017 Midwest Regional with 320 points.

In addition to Noone, UW-Oshkosh also received scoring values from Amanda Van Den Plas, Hannah Lohrenz, Ashton Keene and Alexis Reichardt. Van Den Plas finished 44th with a time of 23:17 while Lohrenz placed 50th in 23:22, Keene 88th in 24:08 and Reichardt 119th in 24:51. Keene also finished 32nd at the Midwest Regional in 2017 and 48th in 2016.

UW-Oshkosh's two other runners at the meet were Elizabeth Reddeman and Tayah Cunningham. Reddeman finished 128th with a time of 25:02 and Cunningham 186th in 26:19.

Washington University in St. Louis, which entered Saturday's meet ranked second in the nation by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, captured the team title with 58 points. The Bears were followed by second-place and 2017 Midwest Regional champion UW-Eau Claire with 93 points.

Rounding out the top five teams were third-place UW-La Crosse with 101 points, fourth-place University of Chicago with 118 and fifth-place Wheaton College with 147.

Other teams in the top 10 were sixth-place UW-Stout with 218 points, seventh-place UW-Stevens Point with 258, eighth-place North Central College (Ill.) with 269, ninth-place UW-Platteville and 10th-place UW-Oshkosh. 

The top two teams from Saturday's meet, Washington University in St. Louis and UW-Eau Claire, earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship, which will be hosted by UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 17 at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne.

Sixteen other at-large bids will be awarded from the nation's eight total regions on Sunday (Nov. 11). The top seven individual finishers from each region not on one of the qualifying teams will also secure an invitation to the national championship.

2018 NCAA Division III Cross Country Midwest Regional Website

2018 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship Website

Written by Ally Gwidt, UW-Oshkosh Sports Information