The Drake University men's and women's cross country teams continue the championship portion of their season on Friday afternoon when they race at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship in Peoria, Ill.
The women's 6-kilometer race will start at noon, CST, followed by the men's 10-kilometer race at 1 p.m. on the Newman Golf Course. The regional meet brings together teams from 13 conferences to complete for a berth in the NCAA Championship field. The top two teams and top four individuals not on those squads will receive automatic spots in the NCAA Championship. At-large teams and individuals will be announced following the completion of all nine NCAA Regional championships.
The men's team is coming off a sixth-place finish in its most recent competition, the MVC Championship on Nov. 1. Senior Brogan Austin (Boone, Iowa) led the Bulldogs in that race with a fourth-place showing. Austin has led Drake in each of its last four competitions, however it will be his and the team's first time racing at the 10-kilometer distance this season. Junior Rob McCann (Mississauga, Ontario) has run consistently at No. 2 all season and was the second Bulldog across the line at the MVC Championship in 14th place. Neither competed in last year's NCAA Regional Championship as the Bulldogs were led by Doug Brady (Englewood, Colo.) and then-freshman Reed Fischer (Minnetonka, Minn.) in 75th and 102nd places, respectively.
Drake's women team returns six competitors that competed in last season's NCAA Regional Championship as the team finished 17th. This season, the Bulldogs have been paced by Krista Maguire (Wausau, Wis.) and Emma Huston (Des Moines, Iowa) with one of those two serving as Drake's top runner in each competition this season. Maguire was Drake's top runner at the MVC Championship, coming in 13th in the 5-kilometer race while Huston was 23rd. Taylor Scholl (Prior Lake, Minn.), who was Drake's top finisher at last year's regional meet, was 32nd at the MVC Championship and has consistently been Drake's No. 3 scorer this season.
Following Friday's NCAA Regional Championship, the team will wait to see where it sits in the national team and individual standings in hopes of individuals advancing to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.
