TOLEDO, Ohio - Fresh off its Mid-American Conference Championship title, the Toledo women's cross country team will attempt to run for national honors when the Rockets head to Evansville, Ind. for the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals at 11:00 a.m. CT (Noon ET) on Friday, Nov. 12.

Toledo, ranked fourth in the Great Lakes Region, won the MAC title in Ypsilanti, Mich. on Oct. 30 by putting four runners in the top seven. Freshman Joy Chirchir crossed the finish line first with a time of 20:23.2, and was followed by senior Semra Karaslan (2nd/20:36.2), junior Faith Linga (5th/20:56.9) and junior Lou Trois (7th/21:10.5) in the top 10. Sophomore Emily Vining rounded out Toledo's scoring with a time of 21:42.4 to take 17^th place. Toledo's score of 32 points was well ahead of second-place Miami (61 points) to capture its first league crown since 2014. 

The Rockets will need that kind of performance to reach the NCAA Championship Meet for the first time since 2014. The Rockets made the national meet four times from 2010 to 2014, with its best finish being a 21st-place showing in 2011.

"Our  women's squad is in a good position heading into this weekend at regionals," said Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough, the 2021 MAC Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year. "We are in a deep region with many capable teams of qualifying for the NCAA Championships. We need to execute on the day in order to punch our ticket as well. We feel good about where we are at and what we can control."
 
A total of 33 schools will be competing at the Great Lakes Regional, with the top two teams earning automatic bids to the NCAA Championship Meet in Tallahassee, Fla. on Nov. 20. An additional 13 schools will be selected from the nine regions as at-large teams. The top four individuals at each region not on an advancing team will also qualify for nationals, as will two additional at-large selections.

For live results of the 2021 Great Lakes Regional, Click Here.