EVANSVILLE, In. – The No. 17 University of Southern Indiana women's cross country team steps back into action Saturday at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships -hosted by Bellarmine University at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. (CST).
USI will be one of seven teams at the meet who are ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 Grand Valley State University. The Screaming Eagles and Bellarmine (14th) are the only two members of the GLVC ranked in the national poll. Ferris State University (9th), Wayne State University (18th), Hillsdale College (23rd), and Ashland University (24th) round out the nationally-ranked institutions.
The top three teams from the Midwest Region advance to NCAA II National Championships on December 4, which also will be ran at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville. USI is making its second appearance on the course this season, the first coming on October 2 during the Greater Louisville Classic.
The Eagles are seeking a second consecutive berth in the NCAA II National Championships and their fourth out of the last six years.
As a team the Eagles have depth from top to bottom including, juniors Jackie Henderson and Adrienne Curtis, both All-GLVC honorees, and GLVC Freshman of the Year Kaylee McClanahan.
Head Coach Mike Hillyard feels the training and health of his team puts them in position to compete with Ferris State and Bellarmine for second place.
When asked about the course Hillyard said, “It's very flat so we expect it will be a track meet out there; but just like any other sport, being familiar with the course also gives us a bit of an advantage and reduces the anxiety for our runners.” This will be the fourth time in two years that USI has run this course.
“It also helps that we only have to travel two hours,” Hillyard continued. “Sometimes you find it's more difficult for teams to get up and run the following day after a seven-hour drive.”
