Great Lakes Region -- Wisconsin
Mid-Atlantic Region -- Lehigh
Midwest Region -- Iowa State
Mountain Region -- Weber State
South Region –- Alabama
South Central Region -- Baylor
Southeast Region -- Virginia
West Region -- Sacramento State

The Northeast Region is yet to be determined and will be announced at a later date.

Baylor leads the group for hosting experience having been the site for six previous regionals (2005, 2006, 2008-11), while six of the other institutions have hosted at least two events, being either a regional or the national championship. Sacramento State is the only institution hosting an NCAA cross country regional or national championship for the first time.

“The committee is confident that each of these sites will serve as great partners in hosting successful regional championships,” said Maisha Kelly, NCAA Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee chair and senior associate director of athletics/SWA at Bucknell. “The committee was fortunate enough to receive competitive bids from multiple sites. We determined that the selected hosts are well-suited to provide a competitive and championship level experience for student-athletes, as well as an exciting fan experience.”
 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Oklahoma State captured its third national championship in four years on Saturday at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park.

The Cowboys earned 72 points, beating Wisconsin by 63 points to claim the school's 51st NCAA team title in all sports.

Girma Mecheso led the Cowboys, finishing in sixth place with a time of 29:14.8, his best all season. That time placed him fourth all-time on OSU's 10,000-meter record list. It was also his best finish at the national championships.

"I'm really proud of the way the guys ran," head coach Dave Smith said. "I'm thrilled with the way they responded and bounced back from last year. We were second last year and were dejected and left with our heads down. We could have folded up camp and crumbled and not have been a trophy team this year."

Also running his best time of the season, Tom Farrell finished in ninth place with 9:26.3. Shadrack Kipchirchir (29:43.0) and Joseph Manilafasha (29:48.8) rounded out the top 25 by finishing in 18th and 24th place, respectively. Kipchirchir and Manilfasha turned a season-best time and all three runners earned their best finish at the national championships.

"It went the way we planned," Kipchirchir said. "Dave told us to run together and we did. We stood our ground and we finished well. It was amazing."

By finishing in the top 40, Mecheso, Farrell, Kipchirchir and Manilfasha all earned All-American honors. This is the third time for both Mecheso and Farrell and the first time for Kipchirchir and Manilafasha.

Shane Moskowitz (30:22.6), who ran in his first national championship race, Kirubel Erassa (30:44.8) and Fabian Clarkson (31:15.2) all added to the team score by finishing 53rd, 102nd and 164th places.

For the eighth consecutive year, the Cowboys placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships.

"The guys really responded to the challenge of rebuilding the team," Smith said. "We had some young guys that really came through and some guys with experience who ran the best races they've ever run. We had five guys run their best at nationals and that's hard to do. I'm just thrilled. They worked hard. They earned it."

In order to be eligible to participate in the championships, teams and individuals qualified in their respective regional competitions.

Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large.

Thirty-eight individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their region.

Louisville will host the Championships on Saturday, Nov. 17, at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. The women’s race will begin at noon ET, followed by the men’s race at 1:15 p.m. ET.

No. 7 BYU finished second with 68 points and No. 2 Colorado finished third with 69 points. No. 16 New Mexico and Weber State rounded out the top five.

The Lumberjack men secured an automatic bid into next weekend’s NCAA Cross Country Championship at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.

“It was perfect,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins said.  “We went out really slow, so it allowed our top guys to pack up and not really press too hard. Our guys strung it out then finished hard in order to secure a national bid, but didn’t go so much that they wore themselves out, which is exactly what you want to do at a regional championship meet.”

Zienasellassie came in fourth overall in a time of 30:06.8, followed by Shrader in fifth at 20:09.5. McElroy notched 10th place with a finish of 30:20.0. It was the same trio that crossed the finish line simultaneously at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships two weeks ago in Flagstaff, helping win NAU’s record sixth consecutive conference team title.

The last time the Lumberjack men won the Mountain Region Championship was 2002, when All-American Seth Watkins and three other All-Region honorees claimed the title with 71 points. Its other wins came in 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1976.

Sophomore Caleb Hoover, the only returner from NAU’s 2011 regional team, finished in 13th place with a time of 30:25.8, an improvement of 25 spots and 1:13 from last year. Freshman Nathan Weitz rounded out the scoring for the Lumberjacks with a 24th-place finish (30:50.9).

The Sooners and Cowboys each finished with 45 points to share the title. No. 19 Tulsa (47), Illinois (154) and Missouri (173) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, to round out the top five.

"I thought we ran a very disciplined race,” head coach Martin Smith said.

“It was a very positive sign that we held our composure in the latter stages of the race, and that enabled us to keep our split from one to six extremely tight. Hopefully this will be a very positive step heading into nationals, which gives us good team chemistry and confidence."

The share for the first-place finish was the first ever in Midwest Regional history, second in men’s regional action and fourth throughout the history of both men’s and women’s NCAA Regional roundups. Michigan and Wisconsin were the first two teams to share a title after they each finished with 68 points in the Great Lakes Regional in 2007.

Patrick Casey placed third (30:28.61) overall to lead the Sooners to a fourth consecutive NCAA Championship berth and second Midwest Regional title in the past three years. Kevin Williams crossed the finish line with a time of 30:29.25 to take fifth.

Senior Bill Kogel rounded out the top 10 with a 30:34.03 effort. Riley Masters followed right behind Kogel in 11th place with a time of 30:34.17. Andrew Weaver came in at 16th clocking a time of 30:45.96, followed by Ryan Poland who placed 17th with a time of 30:46.21. Brandon Doughty finished 39th crossing the line at 31:15.81.

Girma Mecheso led Oklahoma State's squad by finishing in second place with a time of 30:26.39. Tom Farrell (30:29.06) and Shane Moskowitz (30:30.21) finished in fourth and seventh place, respectively.

Louisville will play host to the 2012 NCAA Championships on Nov. 17. For the first time since World War II, the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be held on a Saturday instead of a Monday - and for just the second time in a Big East Conference city. With the new date formula prescribing the national meet be held on Saturday before Thanksgiving, and by virtue of the calendar having the earliest possible Thanksgiving this year, the meet will be the earliest in Division I history.

“It was kind of a community effort,” Darling said. “I had a lot of people tell me I put a small town on the map, and to have them there is pretty unique and very special. I wanted to win it for them and I came up a little short, but they were still pretty proud of me.”

There was plenty to be proud of for the Badgers. Behind Darling’s second-place effort, fellow seniors Mohammed Ahmed (third place) and Reed Connor (sixth) helped UW claim the team championship with a score of 33 points.

Wisconsin’s run of 14 consecutive crowns is the longest in conference history, extending a streak that began in 1999.

“He wanted to win. He wanted to win close to home,” UW coach Mick Byrne said of Darling. “All these busloads of people came to see him run. At the end of the day, he knows we got a team title, and how many guys can walk away and say they’re four-time Big Ten champions?”

UW’s 14 titles in the last 14 seasons are more than every other Big Ten team has won all-time, with the exception of Michigan State, which has taken home a total 14 crowns in the 96-year history of the Big Ten meet.

“My freshman year, when I redshirted, the seniors that were on their way out said that no one wants to be on the team that loses the Big Ten streak,” Darling said. “We understand what that means. It’s just phenomenal to know you’re part of such a strong program.

“Winning 14 [consecutive] championships -- in any collegiate sport – is pretty impressive. To be a part of that is fantastic and something I don’t take lightly.”

Darling finished the 8-kilometer course in a time of 23:35. Ahmed crossed the line right behind him in 23:36 and Connor finished sixth in 23:47.

“Finnerty was incredible,” Byrne said. “He did an amazing job. He looked like a different person out there. He was confident, he was in control, he was leading the second group and, a couple of times, I had to shout at him to keep something in the tank.”

Sophomores Alex Hatz and Michael Van Voorhis finished 23rd and 36th, respectively, in times of 24:27 and 24:39.

Ahmed, Darling, Connor and Finnerty each earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Ahmed and Darling are the seventh and eighth runners in Big Ten history to earn first-team All-Big Ten accolades in four consecutive seasons. The pair join Jason Casiano (1991-94) and Chris Solinsky (2003-06) as the only Badgers to accomplish the rare feat.

Connor claimed his second-consecutive first-team All-Big Ten honor, while Finnerty notched his first.

Rounding out the race for the team title was No. 11 Michigan in second with 65 points, No. 24 Indiana third with 79, Illinois fourth (86) and Minnesota fifth (141)

Indiana senior Zachary Mayhew won the individual title in 23:29.

It was No. 13 EKU men’s 21st overall and seventh consecutive conference title. The Colonels cruised to victory, resting several of their top runners and still taking spots 1-4 to finish with 17 points. Eastern Illinois was second with 70 points, while Southeast Missouri had 76 and Morehead State had 102 points.

Long-time EKU head coach Rick Erdmann earned his 19th OVC Men’s Coach of the Year award and 26th OVC Women’s Coach of the Year award following the meet.

Junior Soufiane Bouchikhi, the three-time defending OVC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year, won his third consecutive individual conference title, defeating a field of 86 runners and covering the course in 24:01.75, the fastest 8K time in OVC Championships history. His victory marks the ninth consecutive year that a runner from EKU has won the OVC men’s title.

Bouchikhi was 27 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, sophomore Thijs Nijhuis, who finished second with a time of 24:28.83. Freshmen Amos Kosgey (24:34.48) and Mads Taersboel (24:36.68) finished third and fourth, respectively, while junior Erwin Leysen (24:47.10) finished seventh to round out EKU’s top five on the day.

All of EKU’s scoring five at the meet earned first team All-OVC honors.

Junior Adams Ronnoh (24:51.15) finished eighth and senior Daniel Jones (24:57.60) took 10th to earn second team All-OVC honors. Senior Musa Kimuli finished 21st with a time of 25:29.53.

"We wanted to come in and make a statement,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “This is the first of three legs in the championship season. This is really the most important one. The SEC Championship means a lot to our school. When you win an SEC title in any sport, it’s special and I’m awfully proud of our guys for the effort they put in today and all the hard work they’ve done all year.”

Friday’s victory is the Razorbacks’ ninth SEC title under Bucknam with three cross country (2010-12)

In addition to the team title, the Razorbacks collected six All-SEC accolades. For their top-seven performances, Haile, Fernandez and Campbell were named to the All-SEC First Team. Layne Nixon and Cale Wallace earned spots on the All-SEC Second Team.

In his return to the SEC Championships, Haile was Arkansas’ top performer with a second-place individual finish. He posted an 8K time of 23:47.27. Haile redshirted the 2011 season. Fernandez was third overall in 23:52.16, while Campbell crossed in fourth place with a time of 23:55.38. The Razorbacks’ top three has remained the same for three consecutive races.

Nixon and Wallace rounded out the Razorbacks’ top-five scoring lineup. Nixon navigated the 8K course in a time of 24:14.52, good for 12th place in Friday’s race. Nixon has been part of Arkansas’ scoring lineup in all four competitions this season. Wallace finished in 14th place in his first SEC Championship. He crossed the line in a time of 24:17.79.

The Razorbacks’ remaining runners included Cameron Efurd in 21st place at 24:30.75, David Flynn in 24th at 24:36.76, Raymond Joseph in 46th at 25:17.36, Anthony Lieghio in 57th at 25:31.00 and Drew Butler in 63rd at 25:33.63.

Harboe defeated a field of 120 runners, covering the 8K course in 25:24.42. Sophomore Sean Vandermosten was not far behind in third place with a time of 25:43.07, while freshman Ben Turner (sixth / 25:53.37), senior Bradley Fortuna (27th / 26:53.94) and junior Peter Migun (38th / 27:33.86) rounded out EKU’s scoring five at the meet.

The EKU women did not field a full team. However, senior Jackline Barkechir finished fourth out of 97 competitors, completing the 5K course in a time of 18:47.77. Sophomore Erica Wesstrom (sixth / 19:19.75) and junior Natalie Field (11th / 19:44.07) also ran for the Colonels.

Coach James Li: I hope the men's team can get it together. Obviously, we've had three guys who have been running really well -- Lawi Lalang, Stephen Sambu and Kenji Bierig. They are running very well, the others will have to step up. Now that we will get the service and help from Jonas Legernes, I have good reason to think he's going to help us. He has not competed yet this year so we don't know exactly what we are going to get but I think he will help. The other guys really have to come through and do well, so with that, my expectations are that we will do significantly better than what we have done. Hopefully, we can finish in the top four or five in the conference meet. That would be a tall order but I think we can do it.

On the women's side, of the top six teams in the nation, four of them are in our conference. So we'll go there to compete and try to do our best. I think it can go any way, we could win it or we could finish fourth or fifth. Last year, Colorado came out of nowhere and won it, so who knows. We're in this unbelievable conference. But, I think our ladies are looking really good. This year, I'm really happy with how everyone has conducted themselves and how much they have improved and how consistent they have been. We have a fighting chance to go there, do well, then qualify for the NCAA Championships and do well there. I think this is going to be an exciting week and month.

What can you attribute the consistency of the women's team to?

Li: I think the consistency has a lot to do with our ladies working hard over the summer. They are also a lot more mature this year. We have a good mixture of seniors, juniors and sophomores. In general, they are happy and content -- I think that has a lot to do with it. So far, all the races we have competed in, they performed very well. There was very little fluctuation, which we saw quite a bit last year and previous years. I would attribute it to the hard work, maturity level and the team atmosphere. I would also attribute the team's overall improvement to those same factors. Going into big meets I think they are more confident. They know have been training well and it seems like they can handle the pressure of the big meets a lot better.

Aside from the obvious success of Lawi Lalang and Stephen Sambu, do you think the men have been running to your standards and their standards? Can they run even better?

Li: I think they can run even better. I really feel those two are among the top runners in the country. I think they are doing better than when Stephen ran in 2010 and Lawi in 2011 [because] they feed off each other quite a bit. Lawi broke two course records this year. In Wisconsin before the race, we talked and that wasn't even one of our goals, to run fast and break the course record. But he still did, which is an indication to me that they are getting better. Almost all the other guys are getting better as well, but right now our fourth and fifth runners are not running fast enough, even though they are better. They need to figure out a way in the upcoming races to answer the challenge. I really do feel that if we get our fourth and fifth runner close to our third runner, then we have a shot at making the NCAA Championships.

What does it mean for the women to be ranked No. 5 heading into the championship portion of the season?

Li: We were ranked second a few weeks ago but even at that time I didn't take too much from it. It was still relatively early in the season and the rankings could still fluctuate dramatically. Two weeks later, everybody has competed and everybody's season is underway. At this point, the rankings won't change much so I think this No. 5 ranking is realistic. The top teams in the nation have emerged and we are still in a great spot. We certainly performed well without Nicci Corbin, who is our third or fourth runner. I feel that if we do everything right and if everybody stays healthy, we will have a chance to finish in the top five at the NCAA Championships. That is something we haven't done in a long time, so that's where we are.