2024 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championship Preview: Men’s Cross Country

11/14/2024 4:38:00 PM | By: Ella Julien, Staff Writer

Men's Cross Country Set To Take Part In 2024 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships In Shelbyville, Indiana

SHELBYVILLE, IN – After a dominant performance at the OAC Championships, the Blue Streaks are set to continue their postseason run at the 2024 NCAA DIII Great Lakes Regional Championships this weekend. The meet will be held at the Blue River Cross Country Course, the future site of the 2027 DIII National Championships. The gun will go off in the men's 8k at 12:00pm, Saturday November 16th.

Meet Information
Live Results
Course Map

After holding the top spot in the Great Lakes Regional rankings for the past two weeks, the men are focused on continuing to maintain that success heading into this weekend.

With a strong history at the Regional Championships, the Blue Streaks are optimistic going into the weekend. The men have placed first in the region for three straight years, earning them automatic qualifications to the national stage. The team is led by senior Barrett Scheatzle, a two-time team regional team champion and two-time national qualifier. In 2022, Scheatzle finished 6th overall at the Great Lakes Regional, helping the team capture the title.

Another standout to watch is senior Ryan Champa, who finished 10th at last year's regional meet and capped his season with an All-American honor. Dominic Delmoro, also a senior, is looking to finish strong in his final cross country postseason. Delmoro placed 6th overall at last year's regional championship.

Tommy Naiman, a seasoned veteran, continues to perform well. A familiar face at both regional and national meets, the team will draw upon Naiman's experience. Senior Aidan Stone is eager to race his first Regional Championship meet, having contributed solid performances throughout the year.

The Streaks will also be strengthened by talented underclassmen making their championship debuts. Nate Julien, a sophomore, has posted personal bests and scored well for the team all season. Freshman Sam Su has also been a contributing performer and is excited to take that next step in the postseason.

Jett Wieber also delivered a strong performance at the OAC Championships, setting a new personal record and finishing 8th for the team. Phil Coury will make the trip to Shelbyville, another promising underclassman to watch.

Jamie Dailey, Assistant Cross Country/Track & Field Coach at John Carroll University is familiar with the course, as well as a couple of the guys who competed at regionals in 2021 and is excited for what's to come for the men.

"It helps that we have the experience running here in the past for the regional championships," mentioned Dailey. "Experiencing that with guys like Ryan Champa and Barrett Scheatzle, who have contributed a lot for us since then is important going into this type of environment. The men will be leaning on them for guidance. Overall, the guys are stoked and looking forward to the opportunity to compete. Even though we've had success in the past, nothing is guaranteed, especially during championship season. This is another stepping stone in our championship journey to get to where we want to be."

The teams to look out for this weekend are the Calvin Knights, who won their 37th straight MIAA conference title a couple of weeks ago and have been ranked second in the region four of the last seven weeks. Hope is another team from the MIAA to keep an eye on as they lost by one point in their conference championship meet to Calvin, who are currently ranked third. The University of Mount Union rounds up the top four and is looking to get back to the national meet as a team.

With a core of experienced upperclassmen and a rising underclass, the Blue Streaks are eyeing a return to the national stage next week in Terre Haute, IN.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories

Sponsors