Tulsa Men Place Third, Women Take 10th at NCAA Midwest Regional

Friday, November 15

Peoria, Ill.

W: 11:00 a.m. / M: 12:00 p.m.

Tulsa

NCAA Midwest Regional

Photo by: Dani Fey

Tulsa Men Place Third, Women Take 10th at NCAA Midwest Regional

11/15/2024 3:56:00 PM | Cross Country

Results (Web)

PEORIA, Ill. – The University of Tulsa cross country teams competed Friday at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Peoria, Ill., and came away with five total All-Midwest Region awards and top 10 team finishes. The Golden Hurricane men took third in the 10K race with 124 points and the women placed 10^th with 303 points on the 6K course on the Newman Golf Course, set up and hosted by Bradley University.

Redshirt-senior Chloe Hershenow paced the women's team with a season-best 20:23.7 to earn All-Midwest Region honors and place 22^nd overall. Redshirt senior Ailey Mitchell was TU's next finisher at No. 33 with a time of 20:39.1, also a season-best. Senior Robyn Kowalski was next in 21:12.9 for 73^rd, and junior Sarah Hosey finished 10 spots behind her at No. 83 in 21:21.2. Matilda Laidlaw, a true freshman, rounded out the Tulsa top-five with a mark of 21:26.9 for 93^rd overall.

Tulsa would finish with 303 points to place within the top third of the meet's teams at 10^th overall. Taking the two automatic qualifying bids were No. 19 Oklahoma State (61 points) and No. 23 Minnesota with Oklahoma's Leah Jeruto winning the individual title in 19:42.87. She and Iowa State's Maelle Porcher, Nebraska's Ali Bainbridge and Illinois' Halle Hill took the individual bids to the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wis.

The Tulsa men leapt into third place when four Hurricane runners, who all brought home All-Midwest Region honors, swept spots 18-21 on the 10K course Friday. Leading the way was redshirt-senior Chris McLeod, running a personal-best 29:47.5 for 18^th overall. Next was redshirt junior Shay McEvoy in 19^th at 29:50.4 with redshirt-senior Jaden Forester following in 20^th at 29:51.5. Ben Brown, a redshirt freshman in his first regional meet, crossed the line at 29:53.7 for 21^st. Sophomore Luke Birdseye was TU's fifth finisher in 30:38.5 for 51^st. Redshirt junior Luke Lambert (30:38.5) and redshirt freshman James Knockton (31:17.5) each completed the 10K to round out Tulsa's lineup.

TU combined for 124 points as the third-place team, 81 points behind the top-two threshold for receiving an bid to the NCAA Championship. The top two teams earning automatic bids were No. 2 Oklahoma State (25 points) and No. 4 Iowa State (43 points). Friday's individual champion was OSU's Denis Kipngetich in 28:51.46. The four runners who earned individual bids to Madison were Oral Roberts' Abraham Chelangam, Oklahoma's Thobias Cheruiyot, Illinois State's William Sinclair and South Dakota State's Carson Noecker.

After receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll and placing third in a highly competitive regional while keeping an eye on other regional races happening at the same time on Friday, the men's team is hopeful they've done just enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship.

"We went into today knowing we had to be third and have things fall our way to qualify for the NCAA Championships," Head Men's Coach Taylor Gulley said. "The guys got out aggressively and really had to hang tough in the second half of the race. It wasn't our best performance, but they showed a ton of heart and grit to hang in there and finish third. We agonized over the results in other regions and unofficially we're the last team into the NCAA Championships. These guys have battled all kinds of adversity this season so couldn't be happier for them. We'll get up for one more race next week in Madison, Wisconsin!"

The NCAA Division I Cross Country selection committee will officially announce 13 at-large teams to the NCAA Championships via a selection show on Saturday, November 16, at 4 p.m. Central on NCAA.com

Top 10 Team Results
Women's 6K
1. Oklahoma State (61)
2. Minnesota (76)
3. Northwestern (103)
4. Iowa State (139)
5. Nebraska (181)
6. Bradley (203)
7. Oklahoma (222)
8. Illinois (261)*
9. Loyola-Chicago (261)
10. Tulsa (303)

Men's 10K
1. Oklahoma State (25)
2. Iowa State (43)
3. Tulsa (124)
4. Illinois State (179)
5. Loyola-Chicago (184)
6. South Dakota State (196)
7. Bradley (229)
8. Illinois (230)
9. Missouri (260)
10. Minnesota (283)

Tulsa Individual Results
Women's 6K
22. Chloe Hershenow – 20:23.7
33. Ailey Mitchell – 20:39.1
73. Robyn Kowalski – 21:12.9
83. Sarah Hosey – 21:21.2
93. Matilda Laidlaw – 21:26.9
154. Alicen Ashley – 22:21.5

Men's 10K
18. Chris McLeod - 29:47.5
19. Shay McEvoy - 29:50.4
20. Jaden Forester - 29:51.5
21. Ben Brown - 29:53.7
51. Luke Birdseye - 30:38.5
85. Luke Lambert - 31:05.3
103. James Knockton - 31:17.5

All-Midwest Region (Top-25 Runners)
Women
Chloe Hershenow

Men
Chris McLeod
Shay McEvoy
Jaden Forester
Ben Brown