The cats had to brave the cold of 32 degrees for Regionals on October 28, 2017. Six women and twenty-eight men traveled to Shelbyville, Indiana to race. To qualify for the Champions race at Nationals in two weeks the bearcats either must finish top 7 as a team or top 20 as an individual.
The men’s race kicked off at 10am, and prepared they were. The top 7 men all finished just over a minute of each other. Sean Batt lead the team finishing the 8K 12th overall with a time of 26:32. He was quickly followed by Max Hoffman (26:50), Bryan Wilson (27:09), Grant Powers (27:16), Jack Cordonnier (27:18), Nick DeHaven (27:31), and Joey Schlich (27:44) respectively. Eleven of the twenty-eight men that raced got a PR, which helped them place 6th as a team, qualifying the top 7 runners to race in the Champions race at nationals. The men’s team has a solid foundation this year. All the individuals put in their best effort during the race, but also put in long hours at practice by doing various workouts and long runs. The men’s team should do fantastic at nationals.
The women’s team had a strong six that raced at Regionals at 11am. They faced the bitter cold and gave it their best effort. The women were lead by freshman Lauren Kemper who placed 15th overall with a time of 23:59. Lauren not only qualified for the Champions race individually with this time, but also earned herself a spot on the Women’s Record Board with the 6th fastest 6K time. Lauren was followed by Nicole Haffey (26:42), Julia Kraimer (27:59), Jessie Hobart (29:29), Haley Zint (29:32) and Hannah Beitzinger (31:14). Despite the effort from the Women’s team they did not place in the top 7, therefore the women will race depending on the grade level at Nationals.
