NORTON, Ohio – Freshman Dominic Serem became the first Toledo individual qualifier to the NCAA Men's Cross Country National Championship in 49 years with a third-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship in Norton, Ohio on Friday. Serem recorded a personal-best time of 29:14.1, just behind first-place finisher William Zegarski of Butler (29:12.7) and runnerup Douglas Buckeridge of Purdue (29:12.9).

Toledo took 11^th overall, finishing ahead of all other Mid-American Conference schools.

Sophomore Joad Martinho was the second Rocket to cross the finish line, taking 51^st with a time of 30:30.7. Junior Joshuah Taylor earned a 76^th-place finish with a final mark of 30:58.7 while senior Geoff Howles placed 94^th with a time of 31:29.5 and Peter McMahon (116^th/31:50.9) rounded out the scorers. Howles, Martinho, Taylor and Max Matolin (156^th/32:38.4) .all set personal bests.

Along with individually qualifying for the National Championship, Serem also took home All-Region honors. Serem is the fourth Rocket to qualify for the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships and the first since Phil Hinck in 1975.

"Dominic has made history as the first Toledo men's NCAA Cross Country qualifier in 49 years, and he's in a strong position heading into nationals," said Associate Head Coach Tito Medrano. "His leadership and team spirit have been invaluable to our program. Over the past two years, our men's team has made tremendous strides, culminating in our first-ever MAC Championship this season, a historic achievement for a program without track and field. We've learned a lot about ourselves this year and are committed to continuing our growth, aiming to achieve even higher feats next year."

UP NEXT
Serem will compete at the National Championship on Saturday, Nov. 23. 

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2024 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships
Norton, Ohio | Silver Creek Metro Park
Friday, Nov. 15

Men's 10K Team Results
1. No. 19 Notre Dame – 70
2. No. 9 Wisconsin – 82
3. No. 21 Butler – 104
4. No. 27 Michigan State – 104
5. Purdue – 149
6. No. 31 Michigan – 150
7. Indiana – 213
8. Ohio State – 214
9. Youngstown State – 224
10. Cincinnati – 327
11. Toledo - 340
12. Miami – 357
13. IU Indianapolis – 409
14. Eastern Michigan – 427
15. Oakland – 465
16. Ohio – 510
17. Indiana State – 522
18. Central Michigan – 553
19. Akron – 554
20. Xavier – 570
21. Purdue Fort Wayne – 627
22. Green Bay – 655
23. Detroit Mercy – 689
24. Kent State – 694
25. Dayton – 702
26. Valparaiso – 727
27. Wright State – 742
28. Evansville – 789
29. Milwaukee – 814
30. Bowling Green – 840
31. Marquette - 858

Top-5 Individual Runners
1. William Zegarski (Butler) – 29:12.7
2. Douglas Buckeridge (Purdue) – 29:12.9
3. Dominic Serem (Toledo) – 29:14.1
4. Bismack Kipchirchir (Akron) – 29:15.4
5. Carter Solomon (Notre Dame) – 29:22.9

Toledo Individual Results
3. Dominic Serem – 29:14.1
51. Joad Martinho – 30:30.7
76. Joshuah Taylor – 30:58.7
94. Geoff Howles – 31:29.5
116. Peter McMahon – 31:50.9
156. Max Matolin – 32:38.4