Dennis Mutai Places 17th, Toledo Finishes 11th at NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Friday, November 10

Madison, Wis.

1:30 p.m. (EST)

University of Toledo

NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Dennis Mutai (#3365) ran a personal best time of 30:10.8 to earn All-Region honors and lead Toledo in at the Great Lake Regional in Madison, Wisc. on Friday afternoon.

Photo by: Bree Bee

Dennis Mutai Places 17th, Toledo Finishes 11th at NCAA Great Lakes Regional

11/10/2023 3:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

Results

Mutai claims highest individual finish ever by a Rocket at the regional race

MADISON, Wisc. – Sophomore Dennis Mutai continues to make history by finishing 17^th overall to lead the Toledo men's cross country team to an 11^th-place team finish at the 2023 NCAA Great Lakes Regional at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisc. on Friday. Mutai's finish was the highest ever by a Rocket and was clocked at a PR time of 30:10.8 to help him earn Great Lakes All-Region honors.

Mutai crushed his previous PR by 39 seconds. He was followed by senior Benjamin Otis, who jumped up five positions to finish the race 48^th with a PR time of 30:54.9. Freshman Peter McMahon finished his first regional meet in 79^th and was followed by senior Jake Rethman (91^st). Junior Sean Smith had the biggest leap in the standings, cruising up 16 positions to cross the finish line 96^th. Sophomore Joshuah Taylor (106^th) and senior Geoff Howles (130^th) rounded out the UT lineup.

"We are very proud of Dennis and his all-regional finish today," head men's coach Tito Medrano said. "It was another program first for Toledo and we are very happy for him. Ultimately our men wanted more but it's been a successful year with a second-place finish at the Mid-American Conference Championships. We will return next year with the majority of the team back, along with some key missing pieces."

Toledo collected 331 team points, behind three nationally ranked programs and one team receiving votes. No. 12 Butler (43 pts.) won the men's 10K race, followed by No. 5 ranked and race host Wisconsin (70 pts.) to receive automatic bids to the NCAA Cross Country Championship race next Saturday, Nov. 18 in Charlottesville, Va.

The Rockets will have to wait until tomorrow to see if Mutai will become the first Rocket to advance as an individual to the NCAA Championships as an at-large selection.

The NCAA Cross Country Selection Show will take place on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5:00 p.m. live on www.ncaa.com.

2023 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships
Madison, Wisc. | Thomas Zimmer Championship Course
Friday, Nov. 10

Men's 10K Team Results
1. No. 12 Butler – 43
2. No. 5 Wisconsin – 70
3. No. 25 Michigan – 93
4. No. 17 Notre Dame – 95
5. Michigan State – 127
6. Purdue – 172
7. Indiana – 282
8. IUPUI – 284
9. Youngstown State – 311
10 . Akron – 328
11. Toledo – 331
12. Cincinnati – 359
13. Miami – 400
14. Oakland – 437
15. Ohio State – 440
16. Indiana State – 469
17. Dayton – 499
18. Xavier – 504
19. Eastern Michigan – 522
20. Valparaiso – 567
21. Kent State – 572
22. Ohio – 609
23. Purdue Fort Wayne – 618
24. Wisconsin-Green Bay – 655
25. Wright State – 701
26. Bowling Green – 741
27. Milwaukee – 769
28. Marquette – 773
29. Central Michigan – 786
30. Detroit Mercy - 857

Top-5 Individual Runners

1. Bob Liking (Wisconsin) – 29:40.9
2. Jackson Sharp (Wisconsin) – 29:49.2
3. Tom Brady (Michigan) – 29:41.8
4. Florian LePallec (Butler) – 29:43.8
5. William Zegarski (Butler) – 29:44.1

Toledo Individual Results
17. Dennis Mutai – 30:10.8 *PR
48. Benjamin Otis – 30:54.9 *PR
79. Peter McMahon – 31:25.7 *PR
91. Jake Rethman – 31:38.9
96. Sean Smith – 31:43.2 *PR
106. Joshuah Taylor – 31:49.9 *PR
130. Geoff Howles – 32:11.1