Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, November 11
Terre Haute, Ind.
10 a.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography
Eastern Battles Hard at NCAA Great Lakes Regional
11/11/2022 1:05:00 PM | Men's XC, Women's XC
Toby Gualter earns second-straight All-Region honors
Photo Gallery.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University cross country men's and women's teams closed out their season Friday, Nov. 11, at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The men's team, behind a 22nd place finish and All-Region nod for sophomore Toby Gualter (Tawa, New Zealand-Tawa College), placed 12th overall, while the women clocked in at 15th.
"It was a solid day for us," said Director/Head Coach Sue Parks. "Both our men and women were missing a key person from our MAC lineups and that impacted our team finishes but I'm proud of the effort that we put forth. We would have liked to place higher but the Great Lakes region is so tough, you have to be at 100%. We're proud of Toby Gaulter for earning All Region honors for the second year in a row. Faith Rono (Eldoret, Kenya-Middle Tennessee State) also had a strong race to lead our women. Our athletes worked hard this season and kept fighting until the very end. It was a successful season for us but we're hungry for more and I know that we'll be very motivated to take a big step forward next fall."
"The guys ran hard today and that's all we could ever ask," said Head Coach Mark Rinker. "I was proud of Toby getting his 2nd All-Region honor."
The women posted a 15th-place finish in the 31-team field and were led by Rono, who crossed the finish line in 20:58.9, good for 37th place. Three other Eagles placed in the meet's top 100, including sophomore Marta Moreno (Wassenaar, Netherlands-American School of the Hague) (81st - 21:58.1), senior Esme Davies (Lake District, England-Queen Elizabeth Grammar School) (92nd - 22:07.1), and senior Tabatha Walford (Northamptonshire, England-Bishop Stopford-Nevada) (97th - 22:10.8).
EMU's men battled to a 12th-place team finish with 381 points. They were paced by two top-50 runs by Gualter (22nd - 30:29.6) and Baldvin Magnusson (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University) (43rd - 30:59.8). Additionally, sophomore Linus Vennemann (Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany-Gymnasium "In Der Wüste") (74th - 31:39.1) and senior Eddie Zuercher (Rocky River, Ohio-Rocky River) (99th - 32:08.5) finished in the top 100.
Three Eastern harriers set new personal-bests at the regional meet in Walford, freshmen Sam Peterson (Charlevoix, Mich.-Charlevoix) (33:11.8) and Brady Messer (Mason, Ohio-Mason) (35:02.1).
2022 NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Nov. 11 | Terre Haute, Ind.
* = Personal-best
Meet Notes
Men's 8K Team Results
1. Wisconsin 50
2. Notre Dame 61
3. Michigan 79
4. Butler 82
5. Michigan State 137
12. Eastern Michigan 381
29 teams competed
EMU 8K Individual Results
22. Toby Gualter 30:29.6
43. Baldvin Magnusson 30:59.8
76. Linus Vennemann 31:39.3
99. Eddie Zuercher 32:08.5
147. Sam Peterson 33:11.8*
190. Brady Messer 35:02.1*
235 runners competed
Women's 6K Team Results
1. Notre Dame 34
2. Ohio State 111
3. Michigan 116
4. Michigan State 124
5. Wisconsin 129
15. Eastern Michigan 420
31 teams competed
EMU 6K Individual Results
37. Faith Rono 20:58.9
81. Marta Moreno 21:58.1
92. Esme Davies 22:07.1
97. Tabatha Walford 22:10.8*
117. Julia Pleskaczynska 22:26.1
151. Chloie Musta 23:00.0
156. Kaitlyn St. Bernard 23:12.7
219 runners competed
Historical Notes
» Gualter's time of 30:29.8 is the fifth fastest run by an Eagle in the 10K since 2005, and the fourth-fastest run by an EMU men's harrier at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. One year ago, at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Gualter sped to the second-fastest 10K time, finishing in 30:10.7.
» Gualter is the first men's harrier to be named to back-to-back All-Region teams since Hlynur Andresson (three-straight) and Abel Flores in 2017.
Up Next
With neither team finishing in the top-two, both squads will wait to see if the NCAA selects an EMU team or individual as an at-large bid for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The selection show will take place Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. E.T. Eighteen teams automatically qualify for the championship races plus 13 at-large teams, which are selected by the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee, bringing the total number of teams to 31.
The committee will determine at-large berths by examining the following selection criteria in order:
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University cross country men's and women's teams closed out their season Friday, Nov. 11, at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The men's team, behind a 22nd place finish and All-Region nod for sophomore Toby Gualter (Tawa, New Zealand-Tawa College), placed 12th overall, while the women clocked in at 15th.
"It was a solid day for us," said Director/Head Coach Sue Parks. "Both our men and women were missing a key person from our MAC lineups and that impacted our team finishes but I'm proud of the effort that we put forth. We would have liked to place higher but the Great Lakes region is so tough, you have to be at 100%. We're proud of Toby Gaulter for earning All Region honors for the second year in a row. Faith Rono (Eldoret, Kenya-Middle Tennessee State) also had a strong race to lead our women. Our athletes worked hard this season and kept fighting until the very end. It was a successful season for us but we're hungry for more and I know that we'll be very motivated to take a big step forward next fall."
"The guys ran hard today and that's all we could ever ask," said Head Coach Mark Rinker. "I was proud of Toby getting his 2nd All-Region honor."
The women posted a 15th-place finish in the 31-team field and were led by Rono, who crossed the finish line in 20:58.9, good for 37th place. Three other Eagles placed in the meet's top 100, including sophomore Marta Moreno (Wassenaar, Netherlands-American School of the Hague) (81st - 21:58.1), senior Esme Davies (Lake District, England-Queen Elizabeth Grammar School) (92nd - 22:07.1), and senior Tabatha Walford (Northamptonshire, England-Bishop Stopford-Nevada) (97th - 22:10.8).
EMU's men battled to a 12th-place team finish with 381 points. They were paced by two top-50 runs by Gualter (22nd - 30:29.6) and Baldvin Magnusson (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University) (43rd - 30:59.8). Additionally, sophomore Linus Vennemann (Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany-Gymnasium "In Der Wüste") (74th - 31:39.1) and senior Eddie Zuercher (Rocky River, Ohio-Rocky River) (99th - 32:08.5) finished in the top 100.
Three Eastern harriers set new personal-bests at the regional meet in Walford, freshmen Sam Peterson (Charlevoix, Mich.-Charlevoix) (33:11.8) and Brady Messer (Mason, Ohio-Mason) (35:02.1).
2022 NCAA Great Lakes Regional
Nov. 11 | Terre Haute, Ind.
* = Personal-best
Meet Notes
Men's 8K Team Results
1. Wisconsin 50
2. Notre Dame 61
3. Michigan 79
4. Butler 82
5. Michigan State 137
12. Eastern Michigan 381
29 teams competed
EMU 8K Individual Results
22. Toby Gualter 30:29.6
43. Baldvin Magnusson 30:59.8
76. Linus Vennemann 31:39.3
99. Eddie Zuercher 32:08.5
147. Sam Peterson 33:11.8*
190. Brady Messer 35:02.1*
235 runners competed
Women's 6K Team Results
1. Notre Dame 34
2. Ohio State 111
3. Michigan 116
4. Michigan State 124
5. Wisconsin 129
15. Eastern Michigan 420
31 teams competed
EMU 6K Individual Results
37. Faith Rono 20:58.9
81. Marta Moreno 21:58.1
92. Esme Davies 22:07.1
97. Tabatha Walford 22:10.8*
117. Julia Pleskaczynska 22:26.1
151. Chloie Musta 23:00.0
156. Kaitlyn St. Bernard 23:12.7
219 runners competed
Historical Notes
» Gualter's time of 30:29.8 is the fifth fastest run by an Eagle in the 10K since 2005, and the fourth-fastest run by an EMU men's harrier at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. One year ago, at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Gualter sped to the second-fastest 10K time, finishing in 30:10.7.
» Gualter is the first men's harrier to be named to back-to-back All-Region teams since Hlynur Andresson (three-straight) and Abel Flores in 2017.
Up Next
With neither team finishing in the top-two, both squads will wait to see if the NCAA selects an EMU team or individual as an at-large bid for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The selection show will take place Saturday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. E.T. Eighteen teams automatically qualify for the championship races plus 13 at-large teams, which are selected by the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee, bringing the total number of teams to 31.
The committee will determine at-large berths by examining the following selection criteria in order:
- Regional finish
- Wins (points) against teams already in the championship
- Head-to-head competition between teams under consideration
- Records of the teams under consideration against common opponents
- Top individuals on the team under consideration
From each NCAA regional meet, the first four student-athletes, not on a qualifying team, to finish will be automatic qualifiers to the NCAA championships meet. All individual automatic qualifiers must finish in the top 25 within their region.
For updates on all things Eastern Michigan cross country and track and field, continue to check EMUEagles.com or follow the team on Instagram and Twitter, @EMUXC_TF, and Facebook, @EMUXCTF.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Men's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Men's XC
/ Women's XC
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