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All 11 Women's Teams to Compete at NCAA Regionals

Indiana and Iowa to play host to Great Lakes and Midwest Regionals, respectively



Northwestern will be one of the 11 Big Ten women's teams looking for an NCAA Championship bid at regionals this weekend.

Nov. 8, 2005

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All 21 Big Ten men's and women's cross country squads will compete this weekend at their respective NCAA Regional sites for the chance to earn a coveted bid to the 2005 NCAA Championships.  This Saturday, Nov. 12, six Big Ten men's and women's teams -- Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin -- will compete at the Great Lakes Regional in Bloomington, Ind.  Penn State will travel to Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., for the Mid-Atlantic Regional, while Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and the Northwestern women's team compete at the Midwest Regional in Iowa City, Iowa.

The men's 10,000-meter race will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the women's 6,000-meter race at 12:15 p.m., in each of the three regions.

The top two teams and the top four individuals, not on one of those teams (providing they finish in the top 25) will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships held on Nov. 21, 2005, at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind.  Indiana State University will serve as host.  An NCAA committee will select 13 at-large teams and two at-large individuals from the NCAA's nine regions.  Thirty-one teams and 38 individuals will qualify for the NCAA meet.  The 2005 Championships will mark the 67th for the men's and the silver 25th anniversary of the women's race.

Last year, the Wisconsin men claimed the Great Lakes Regional title, while Michigan's Nate Brannen posted a first-place finish.  His Wolverines finished fourth, followed by Indiana.  At the Midwest Regional, Andrew Carlson took home first place and led the Golden Gophers to the regional crown.  Iowa finished third and Illinois posted a fifth-place finish.  Penn State took seventh in the Mid-Atlantic region.

On the women's side, several teams posted top-five finishes, including Michigan, which won the Great Lakes title.  Michigan State finished third and Indiana was fourth.  Illinois, led by Cassie Hunt's first-place finish, posted second in the Midwest and Minnesota was fourth.  Penn State was fifth in the Mid-Atlantic region.