University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, November 11
Columbia, Mo.
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
NCAA Midwest Regionals
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
Gophers Travel to Columbia for NCAA Regionals
11/10/2022 9:23:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota cross country programs will begin their NCAA postseason this Friday, Nov. 11 as they head to Columbia, Mo., for the 2022 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. The women's 6K will kick things off at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course at 11 a.m. 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 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Ali Weimer, will consist of Emma Atkinson, Brianne Brewster, Anastasia Korzenowski, Taylor Kreitinger, Erin Reidy, Libby Halbmaier, Liesl Paulsen and Megan Lundstrom.
The men's crew will be led by Big Ten Sportsmanship team member Emmet Anderson, as well as Seth Eliason, Leo Goodman, Eli Hoeft, Noah Kohut-Jackson, Willem Landis, Matt Lepine and John Quigley.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Minnesota women enter the NCAA regionals ranked No. 5 in the Midwest Region, moving up one spot from No. 6 last week.
LAST TIME OUT
The University of Minnesota cross country program ran to an eighth-place women's finish and a 10th-place men's finish at the 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. True freshman Ali Weimer was the top individual women's finisher at 18th with Emmet Anderson topping the men's competitors in 52nd. Weimer's 18th-place finish made her the top freshman finisher at the event among the 149 competitors. Her time of 20:41.00 goes down as a lifetime best in the 6K distance, beating her previous time by one second.
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 eight top-two finishes and four 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 10 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. 19, in Stillwater, Okla.
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 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Ali Weimer, will consist of Emma Atkinson, Brianne Brewster, Anastasia Korzenowski, Taylor Kreitinger, Erin Reidy, Libby Halbmaier, Liesl Paulsen and Megan Lundstrom.
The men's crew will be led by Big Ten Sportsmanship team member Emmet Anderson, as well as Seth Eliason, Leo Goodman, Eli Hoeft, Noah Kohut-Jackson, Willem Landis, Matt Lepine and John Quigley.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Minnesota women enter the NCAA regionals ranked No. 5 in the Midwest Region, moving up one spot from No. 6 last week.
LAST TIME OUT
The University of Minnesota cross country program ran to an eighth-place women's finish and a 10th-place men's finish at the 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. True freshman Ali Weimer was the top individual women's finisher at 18th with Emmet Anderson topping the men's competitors in 52nd. Weimer's 18th-place finish made her the top freshman finisher at the event among the 149 competitors. Her time of 20:41.00 goes down as a lifetime best in the 6K distance, beating her previous time by one second.
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 eight top-two finishes and four 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 10 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. 19, in Stillwater, Okla.
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