University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, November 12
Iowa City, IA
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
NCAA Midwest Regionals
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Men's Track & Field
Photo by: Craig Lassig
Preview: Gophers Travel to Iowa City for NCAA Regionals
11/9/2021 10:30:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Track & Field
MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota cross country programs will begin their NCAA postseason this Friday, Nov. 12 as they head to Iowa City, Iowa for the 2021 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. The women's six-kilometer will kick things off at the Ashton Cross Country Course at 11 a.m. CT, followed by the men's 10K at noon.
THE SQUAD
The Gophers will have a solid roster representing both sides of the program at Friday's regional.
The women's squad, led by 2021 Big Ten Champion Megan Hasz, will consist of M. Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Bethany Hasz, Anastasia Korzenowski, Tate Sweeney, Emma Atkinson, Brianne Brewster, Carissa Dock, Bit Klecker and Jaycie Thomsen.
The men's crew will be composed of Alec Basten, Matt Wilkinson, Owen Hoeft, Khalid Hussein, Jack Manderscheid, Ethan Cannon, Declan Dahlberg, Seth Eliason and Eli Hoeft.
IN THE RANKINGS
Both sides of the Minnesota Gophers program found themselves among the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) latest National Coaches' Poll. The women cracked the top-five for the first time this season, coming in at No. 5, while the men moved up in the rankings for the third straight week to claim No. 23 after yet another strong showing at the Big Ten Championships in late October.
The women will be the top-seed heading into Friday's regional, followed by two other nationally ranked programs in No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 13 Iowa State. On the other side, the men will be the fourth of four ranked programs in attendance, with No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 10 Tulsa rounding out the top-three seeds.
LAST TIME OUT
At the 2021 Big Ten Conference Cross Country Championships, Minnesota laid down arguably their best performances of the season on both sides of the program.
Led by the 2021 Individual Big Ten Champion, Megan Hasz, the Gopher women managed to claim their third team Big Ten title in program history (72 points). Three women earned a top-10 finish in the 6K race, with M. Hasz (first), Abby Kohut-Jackson (seventh) and Bethany Hasz (ninth) all earning All-Big Ten honors. M. Hasz is the third individual champion in program history, joining her sister B. Hasz and Eileen Donaghy, who won in 2020 and 1987, respectively.
The men were led by an All-Big Ten First Team performance from Alec Basten, who claimed fifth in the men's 5.2 mile race to help Minnesota claim third (83 points) in the team standings. All five scoring Gophers cracked the top-25, with Matt Wilkinson claiming 15th while Owen Hoeft, Khalid Hussein and Jack Manderscheid took 20th-22nd, respectively.
REGIONAL HISTORY
Minnesota has fared fairly well in its time competing in the Midwest region, particularly on the women's side.
In fact, since 2003, the women have never finished below fourth, claiming seven top-two finishes and three team titles over that span. Besides their one fourth place finish in 2016, the women have advanced onto the NCAA Championships in every season during that span.
Over that same span, the men's side has accumulated nine NCAA Championships appearances on five top-two finishes, with one regional title to boot.
ADVANCING CRITERIA
All teams competing on Friday will be doing so with the hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships later this month. The question stands, however, of what they need to do in order to advance.
There are 31 team spots available at the NCAA Championships and nationally, there are nine regional meets held each season. For each regional meet, the top-two finishing teams automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, taking 18 spots and leaving 13 to be assigned. From there, the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee will then choose the remaining 13 teams at-large to fill out the field.
Those 13 at-large spots are determined by a number of factors, none more important than each team's performance at their respective regional meet. Then, regular and postseason results are taken into account, if need be.
In the case where a team doesn't advance, student-athletes from that team are able to advance individually as well. From each regional, the first four finishers who both do not belong to an advancing team and finished within the top-25 spots will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships to compete unattached. Like in team selection, there are two at-large bids available as well to the highest-placing individuals at a regional that were not automatic qualifiers.
UP NEXT
The final test of the season for the Maroon and Gold will be the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Fla.
THE SQUAD
The Gophers will have a solid roster representing both sides of the program at Friday's regional.
The women's squad, led by 2021 Big Ten Champion Megan Hasz, will consist of M. Hasz, Abby Kohut-Jackson, Bethany Hasz, Anastasia Korzenowski, Tate Sweeney, Emma Atkinson, Brianne Brewster, Carissa Dock, Bit Klecker and Jaycie Thomsen.
The men's crew will be composed of Alec Basten, Matt Wilkinson, Owen Hoeft, Khalid Hussein, Jack Manderscheid, Ethan Cannon, Declan Dahlberg, Seth Eliason and Eli Hoeft.
IN THE RANKINGS
Both sides of the Minnesota Gophers program found themselves among the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) latest National Coaches' Poll. The women cracked the top-five for the first time this season, coming in at No. 5, while the men moved up in the rankings for the third straight week to claim No. 23 after yet another strong showing at the Big Ten Championships in late October.
The women will be the top-seed heading into Friday's regional, followed by two other nationally ranked programs in No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 13 Iowa State. On the other side, the men will be the fourth of four ranked programs in attendance, with No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 10 Tulsa rounding out the top-three seeds.
LAST TIME OUT
At the 2021 Big Ten Conference Cross Country Championships, Minnesota laid down arguably their best performances of the season on both sides of the program.
Led by the 2021 Individual Big Ten Champion, Megan Hasz, the Gopher women managed to claim their third team Big Ten title in program history (72 points). Three women earned a top-10 finish in the 6K race, with M. Hasz (first), Abby Kohut-Jackson (seventh) and Bethany Hasz (ninth) all earning All-Big Ten honors. M. Hasz is the third individual champion in program history, joining her sister B. Hasz and Eileen Donaghy, who won in 2020 and 1987, respectively.
The men were led by an All-Big Ten First Team performance from Alec Basten, who claimed fifth in the men's 5.2 mile race to help Minnesota claim third (83 points) in the team standings. All five scoring Gophers cracked the top-25, with Matt Wilkinson claiming 15th while Owen Hoeft, Khalid Hussein and Jack Manderscheid took 20th-22nd, respectively.
REGIONAL HISTORY
Minnesota has fared fairly well in its time competing in the Midwest region, particularly on the women's side.
In fact, since 2003, the women have never finished below fourth, claiming seven top-two finishes and three team titles over that span. Besides their one fourth place finish in 2016, the women have advanced onto the NCAA Championships in every season during that span.
Over that same span, the men's side has accumulated nine NCAA Championships appearances on five top-two finishes, with one regional title to boot.
ADVANCING CRITERIA
All teams competing on Friday will be doing so with the hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships later this month. The question stands, however, of what they need to do in order to advance.
There are 31 team spots available at the NCAA Championships and nationally, there are nine regional meets held each season. For each regional meet, the top-two finishing teams automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, taking 18 spots and leaving 13 to be assigned. From there, the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee will then choose the remaining 13 teams at-large to fill out the field.
Those 13 at-large spots are determined by a number of factors, none more important than each team's performance at their respective regional meet. Then, regular and postseason results are taken into account, if need be.
In the case where a team doesn't advance, student-athletes from that team are able to advance individually as well. From each regional, the first four finishers who both do not belong to an advancing team and finished within the top-25 spots will automatically advance to the NCAA Championships to compete unattached. Like in team selection, there are two at-large bids available as well to the highest-placing individuals at a regional that were not automatic qualifiers.
UP NEXT
The final test of the season for the Maroon and Gold will be the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 20 in Tallahassee, Fla.
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