Three Big Ten Women’s Cross Country Teams Qualify for NCAA Championships

Results: Great Lakes Regional | Mid-Atlantic Regional | Midwest Regional | West Regional

ROSEMONT, Ill. – At least eight Big Ten teams will be represented at the 2024 NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships following results at NCAA Regionals held around the country on Friday. The top two teams and the top four individuals not on a qualifying team at each regional earned automatic berths to the NCAA Championships, which will take place Nov. 23 in Madison, Wis.

Three Big Ten programs finished in the top two of their respective 6K regional championships and earned automatic berths on Friday. Oregon tallied 43 points to win the West Regional with three top-10 finishers. 2024 Big Ten individual title holder Silan Ayyildiz placed second (19:19.3) while Maddy Elmore finished third (19:23.7) and Anika Thompson checked in seventh (19:41.7).

Minnesota placed second in the Midwest Regional behind 76 points with Ali Weimer finishing second overall (19:48.85). Wisconsin also had a solid team effort and claimed second place in the Great Lakes Regional with 97 points.

Individually, five Big Ten runners placed within the top four outside of the qualifying teams to secure a spot in Madison. Michigan State’s Rachel Forsyth (19:31.7) clocked in second at the Great Lakes Regional. In the Mid-Atlantic Region, Penn State’s Florence Caron finished fourth (19:41.7) and Maryland’s Rose Coats placed eighth (19:53.8). Nebraska’s Ali Bainbridge was fifth (19:53.82) and Illinois’ Halle Hill finished sixth (19:55.74) in the Midwest Region.

Along with Friday’s automatic qualifiers, an additional 13 teams and two individual participants will be chosen by the NCAA Division I Track and Field and Cross Country Committee through an at-large selection process. The full field for the 2024 NCAA Championships will be announced during the NCAA selection show at 5 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, live on NCAA.com.