The University of Chicago Maroons men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed this weekend in the NCAA DIII Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships. 

Fourth-year Khia Kurtenbach again led the way for the women, crossing the line first out of a field of 263 runners in a blazing time of 20:41. Fourth-year Kelsey Dunn came in 21st at 21:33 and second-year Maggie Bourdreau came in 31st at 21:47 to earn All-Region honors along with Kurtenbach. Fourth-year Cassidy McPherson (36th, 21:58), first-year Abigail Shoemaker (42nd, 22:08), second-year Claire Brockway (43rd, 22:08), and fourth-year Claire Costelloe (46th, 22:11) all rounded out the scorers for the Maroons on the women’s side. 

The women placed fifth overall out of 37 teams in a field of which the top two teams get an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. They have received an at-large bid to the race this upcoming Saturday, November 18, in Elsah, IL, where the 6K race kicks off at 12:15 p.m. Christopher Newport University will host the 32 teams. The UChicago women have qualified for the meet for eight straight years and 13 times in their history. 

On the men’s side, second-year Ralph Patejunas was named all-region, coming in 33rd with a time of 24:27. First-year Ryan Cutter (40th, 24:35), first-year Jordan Olson (41st, 24:36), third-year Jacob Gosselin (50th, 24:51), fourth-year Peter Kreuch (62nd, 25:04), second-year Andrew Kates (66th, 25:08), and first-year Charles Gardner (75th, 25:20) all added to the Maroons’ strong performance, leading them to a sixth-place finish out of 36 teams.

The men’s team unfortunately did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA DIII Championship, as they were vying for one of 16 spots against teams in eight other regions. They can hold their heads high after a great set of performances this season, and look toward next year as many of their top runners return.