Meet Information
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Forty-eight teams and nearly 400 runners from across the country will gather in Evansville Saturday for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. The races, which will be held on the USI Cross Country Course, are slated to begin at noon with the women’s race and 1 p.m. with the men’s race.
The University of Southern Indiana will compete in both races after its men and women’s squads qualified at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships two weeks ago. USI’s men, ranked 16th in the country, finished third; while the women, who are 10th in the nation, were second.
Senior All-American Mary Ballinger will be among the top female competitors in the race after finishing 10th last year. Ballinger was second at the regional meet after winning the GLVC championship in October.
Seattle Pacific University’s Jessica Pixler, the two-time defending national champion, is the favorite to capture the individual title after winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and NCAA II West Regional titles. Pixler won last year’s title by nearly 30 seconds over the second-place finisher.
Top-ranked Grand Valley State University and No. 2 Missouri Southern State University are the favorites to take home the team titles. Grand Valley State won Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Midwest Region titles this season, while Missouri Southern State took home the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association and South Central Region titles earlier this year.
The Lakers of Grand Valley State were second at the 2008 NCAA II Championships, while the Lions of Missouri Southern State were 16th last season.
Six-time defending national champion Adam State College (Colorado) also will pose a stiff challenge in the women’s race. The fourth-ranked Grizzlies, who won the team title when USI last hosted the national meet in 2004, captured the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Central Region titles earlier this season.
USI’s men, who were 15th at the NCAA II Championships a year ago and eighth in 2007, figure to be led by sophomores Brendan Devine and Dustin Emerick. Devine was USI’s top finisher at the GLVC Championships in October before finishing 12th at the Midwest Region Championships two weeks ago. Emerick was USI’s top finisher at the regional meet, finishing ninth overall.
Top-ranked Adams State and No. 2 Western State College (Colorado) are the favorites to win the team title, while Adams State seniors Aaron Braun and Brian Medigovich are among the favorites to capture the individual title. The Grizzlies won the national championship a year ago, while the Mountaineers of Western State were second. Western State captured the team title in 2004.
Braun, who was second at the Central Region Championships two weeks ago, is the top returning finisher from the 2008 NCAA II Championships. Medigovich, who was fifth at the national meet last year, won the Central Region title this season.