Five things to know: Badgers continue postseason stretch with NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Friday, November 15

Norton, OH

10:00 AM

Wisconsin Badgers

NCAA Great Lakes Regional

The Wisconsin women's cross country team meets before the Big Ten Championships.

Photo by: Walt Middleton

Five things to know: Badgers continue postseason stretch with NCAA Great Lakes Regional

November 11, 2024 | Women's Cross Country

Wisconsin looks to build on successful run at Big Ten Championships

By: Maddox Durst

MADISON, Wis. - The No. 14 Wisconsin women's cross country program continues its postseason stretch by taking on the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 15 at Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio, hosted by the Mid-American Conference. The women's race is set to start at 10:00 a.m. CT.

Viewers can keep up with all of the action by following our socials at @BadgerTrackXC or by tracking the live results on the FinishTiming website.

1. LAST TIME OUT: On Friday, Nov. 1, the Badgers finished in third place at the Big Ten Championships in Urbana-Champaign, Ill., led by Second Team All-Big Ten awardee Leane Willemse. The Mequon native paced the Badgers with a time of 19 minutes, 42.8 seconds to slot in at 15th place. Bella Jacobsen and Shea Ruhly finished in 26th and 27th, respectively—leading Wisconsin to a third-place finish behind two of the top teams in the nation in No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Washington.

2. BRINGING OUR BEST: In total, 10 of the 12 runners competing for the Badgers at the Big Ten Championships notched personal bests in the 6K competition—boding well at the beginning of postseason action. Willemse and Jacobsen led the way by turning in sub-20 minute times for the first time this season—joining fellow teammate Lindsay Cunningham, who did so at the Big Ten Preview. Ruhly, Cunningham and Annika Cutforth rounded out the top-5 scorers for Wisconsin, including PRs from Ruhly and Cutforth. Additionally, the Badgers earned quality performances out of Carolyn Shult, Nora Gremban, Mya Bunke and Kylie Finger, all of which put together their quickest times of the season.

3. WHAT'S AT STAKE: The regional championships are an important step in making it to the NCAA Championships in the following week. The top-2 teams in each race earn automatic bids to the final meet of the season—totaling 18 programs throughout the nation. Then, 13 teams are selected with at-large bids based on their resume put together throughout the 2024 campaign. The first four individual runners who are not a part of a team who has earned an automatic bid also qualify for the NCAA Championships. According to the USTFCCCA, Wisconsin currently ranks at No. 2 in the Great Lakes Regional behind No. 6 Notre Dame, the ACC champion. The Badgers project ahead of No. 29 Michigan State, the third and final ranked program in the Great Lakes Regional.

4. A LOOK BACK: Last year at the Great Lakes Regional, the Badgers notched an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Championships behind a fifth-place individual finish from Willemse. The top returner from the Badgers was joined by five other runners who completed their 6K in the top-25 individuals, including Finger and Jacobsen. Six members of Wisconsin garnered All-Region honors and went on to finish in second place with a total of 71 points. They qualified for their 33rd NCAA Championships—looking to follow the same formula in 2024.

5. UP NEXT: If the Badgers put together a quality performance on Friday, they will be in line to qualify for the NCAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23, on their home turf at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course. Last season, Wisconsin finished in 22nd place and will look to return to the big stage as a team for the fourth consecutive season.

Fans are encouraged to purchase parking and shuttle tickets ahead of time here: go.wisc.edu/NCAAXCTix.