Close finishes can be heartbreaking. At this year's NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet, the Blue Streaks will be seeking to play heartbreaker to contenders in their deep region.

After a close conference meet that separated the top three teams by only 20 points, the John Carroll women are eager to finish at the top of the OAC and qualify for the national meet Saturday.

Assistant coach and head recruiting coordinator Kyle Basista, a member of nationally qualifying teams in his collegiate cross country career, knew the formula that would lead to a national berth for the Streaks.

“It's going to take a complete team effort,” Basista commented. “Our number one and two runners need to establish themselves within the top 15-20, and our three to five gap needs to be the closest it has been all season.”

Speaking from his position as head recruiting coordinator, Basista also took time to remark on the challenges and differences in recruiting women to compete at the college level compared to recruiting men.

“Recruiting women tends to be a little more difficult, because they tend to start their college search sooner and make their decision earlier,” he noted. “Female runners tend to mature earlier than males, thus the senior pool of recruits is smaller.”

Head coach Dara Ford has predicted that a top five team finish would be needed to earn a first-ever berth for the Blue Streaks in the NCAA Division III National Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on November 17. A year ago, JCU raced to an impressive sixth place finish at regionals.

Although John Carroll returned six of their top seven runners from 2011, injuries and other setbacks have led to a somewhat different roster going into this year's regional meet.

“Based on the roster we returned from last year, I would not have predicted this lineup,” Basista remarked. “However, due to some unfortunate injuries, other ladies have stepped up and competed at a high level.”

When asked to compare this year's field and this year's team going into this championship meet, Basista observed that the field is just as competitive, if not moreso, than last year.

"The big difference between last year's team and this year's team is we have a much stronger 1-2 punch," said Basista.  "Most national-caliber teams have at least two runners in the top 20, and I feel like we are capable of doing that.”

Along with conference foes Ohio Northern and Mount Union, national-caliber teams competing in this year's Great Lakes Region include Case Western Reserve, Oberlin, Hope (MI), and Calvin (MI). The Calvin College Knights have won the last five straight regional meets, including 15 of the last 19. Senior Allison Steinbrunner of Ohio Northern, coming off an individual OAC title, returns as the defending individual champion of the Great Lakes Region.

The Blue Streaks will make their final push for the national meet on the six kilometer course in Alexandria, Indiana. Hosted by Anderson University, the women will compete on the Yule Golf Course at noon on Saturday, November 10.