NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship Preview: Men’s & Women’s Cross Country

11/13/2026 5:37:00 PM | By: Jamie Dailey '22, SID Assistant

Men's & Women's Cross Country Set To Compete At 2026 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships This Saturday, November 14th

EAST LANSING, MI. – The Blue Streaks are back in Michigan for the second time this season for this year's 2026 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships.

Both championship races will take place at the Forest Akers East Golf Course this Saturday, November 14th. The women's championship 6k will start at 11:00 AM (ET), followed by the men's championship 8k at 12:00 PM (ET).

Meet Information
Live Results

Both squads are coming off of conference championship victories two weeks ago.

The women won their first North Coast Athletic Conference title in school history, scoring a total of 21 points, while the men earned back-to-back titles with 36 points.

John Carroll happened to be the first program in NCAC history to take home both the individual and team titles from that weekend, led by Anne Rea and Sam Su, who also garnered "2026 Runner of the Year" accolades.

Both groups will look to bring that momentum heading into the regional championships this weekend against a competitive field after collecting seven All-Conference performances from each side.

Looking at the women, the group returns three All-Region athletes from last year.

Anne Rea has been the runner to watch out for the Blue Streaks this year as she will look to garner her second All-Region accolade of her career.

Morgan Dobos would be the next runner for the women as she will also be in the hunt to be in the mix for a top spot in the 6k.

Earning conference runner up this year was Samantha Goodnough. She will make her second appearance for the Blue Streaks at a regional meet.

Valuable contributors including Madeline Harrington and Kylie Bennington have been tremendous this year as both will look to close that top five.

Other juniors who will be making their regional championship debuts are Natalie Chryst and Meah Prutzman.

On the men's side, they return three All-Region athletes from last year's team.

The group has been led by Sam Su all season. He recorded a new personal best of 24:22.9 at Augustana in mid-October and earned his first career NCAC Cross Country crown. He'll look to be in the mix with that top group.

Charles Payne and Joey Naiman return for another All-Region appearance as they both will look to be in contention for a top spot.

Chris Whiting has emerged in the top seven for the Blue Streaks this year and will make his debut on the regional stage. Whiting placed 19th overall at the NCAC Championships.

Another senior who has been a valuable contributor throughout the year is Phil Coury. The St. Edward graduate placed 24th at last year's regional championships.

Joey Cappuzzello and Matthew Dienes round out the top seven as they both have been a huge boost for the men this year.

The men enter the 2026 regional championships ranked fifth, while the women enter the weekend ranked third.

With a mix of leadership, experience, and youth, both teams will look to continue their strength of being one of the top programs in the Great Lakes and earn their spots to next week's NCAA Cross Country Championships in Northfield, Minnesota hosted by Carleton College.

You can follow along on the live results link posted on JCUSports.com.

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