MADISON, Wisc. – Sophomore Lianna Surtz crossed the finish line in 29^th place at the 2023 NCAA Great Lakes Regional to lead the Toledo women's cross country team to an eighth-place team finish at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wis. on Friday afternoon.

Surtz turned on the jets and moved up seven positions to cross the tape at 21:09.9, nearly 12 seconds shy of her personal best time. She was followed by senior Laura Nicholson who jumped eight positions to finish 31^st. Senior Madeline Vining finished 51^st, the only returning Rocket from last year's sixth-place team. Senior Vilde Henriksen and junior Morgan Hicks finished 65^th and 69^th respectively, while sophomores Jaydon Cirincione (92^nd) and Karina James (95^th) rounded out the Rockets' roster in their first postseason meet.  

"Today was about going for it and trying to pull off a big upset, and on our best day I believe we are capable of that," Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough said. "But with that comes risks. I'm proud of the women for deciding they would rather try to punch their tickets to NCAAs than to be content to stay ahead of the other Mid-American Conference schools. We knew that being 5^th, 6^th 7^th, 8^th, is all the same -- sitting at home and watching the national meet. With the MAC title in hand, we had nothing to lose, and we were in the position to pull it off but couldn't quite hold on. We move on to indoor track & field season knowing we always want more out of a season, to be competing at the NCAA Championships."

Toledo collected 245 team points and ultimately kept pace with three nationally ranked programs and one team receiving votes. No. 9 Notre Dame (39 pts) won the women's 6K race, followed by No. 23 Wisconsin (71 pts.) to automatically qualify for the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championship race next Saturday, Nov. 18 in Charlottesville, Va.

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

Women's 6K Team Results
1. No. 9 Notre Dame – 39
2. No. 23 Wisconsin – 71
3. No. 14 Michigan State – 82
4. Michigan – 150
5. Ohio State – 188
6. Eastern Michigan – 208
7. Ohio – 236
8. Toledo – 245
9. Butler – 287
10. Indiana – 349
11. Central Michigan – 350
12. Purdue – 351
13. Bowling Green – 363
14. Cincinnati – 387
15. Miami – 483
16. Western Michigan – 503
17. Akron – 507
18. Dayton – 508
19. Xavier – 547
20. Oakland – 584
21. Milwaukee – 591
22. Indiana State – 596
23. Ball State – 641
24. Purdue Fort Wayne – 666
25. Wright State – 752
26. Kent State – 778
27. Wisconsin-Green Bay – 496
28. Evansville – 834
29. Valparaiso – 852
30. Detroit Mercy –878
31. Marquette – 891
32. Cleveland State – 960
 
Top-5 Individual Runners
1. Olivia Markezich (Notre Dame) – 19:55.1
2. Addie Engle (Ohio State) – 20:07.47
3. Katie Osika (Michigan State) – 20:16.1
4. Makenna Veen (Michigan State) – 20:17.0
5. Leane Willemse (Ohio State) – 20:18.3
 
Toledo Individual Results
23. Lianna Surtz – 21:09.9
31. Laura Nicholson – 21:12.3
51. Madeline Vining – 21:28.0
65. Vilde Henriksen – 21:40.7
69. Morgan Hicks – 21:45.7
92. Jaydon Cirincione – 22:08.6
95. Karina James – 22:10.4