The championship portion of the NCAA season is here! Division II Regional Championships will take place Saturday, November 4th, followed by Division I and Division III Regional Championships the next Friday/Saturday, November 10th and 11th. These articles will briefly highlight the top teams, individuals, and potential storylines that could take place.
Women - 10:30 AM
Qualifying - 3 Teams and 2 Individuals
The Team Race
Atlantic Region No.2 Slippery Rock (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) is the top team out of PA going into the regional championship. Anna Igims finished 3rd to lead the team to a landslide victory two weeks ago at the PSAC Championship. Ruthie Hughes and Chelsea Hunt also finished in the top 15, with Katie Plassio and Maddie Grillo finishing in the top 20 to round out Slippery Rock's five. Slippery Rock's depth is unmatched by PA and almost all out-of-state competitors.
The battle for third will be anyone's to grab. Davis and Elkins (West Virginia), Bloomsburg, Edinboro, East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, Millersville, and Lock Haven have been shuffling the regional ranks all season long. These are all similarly matched teams with the potential to surprise us on Saturday. Davis and Elkins is the favorite of the mix, but all the PA teams listed have the tools to pull off a top-three finish.
Standout Individuals
Kylie Anicic (Edinboro) will look to defend her Atlantic Region title. Anicic will flex her knowledge of the regional course on Saturday after winning the LHU Invitational in 20:13.7 earlier this season. The national-caliber Anicic won't have much company upfront.
Elaina Klinger (Lock Haven) will be one to watch. Klinger was the PSAC Championship runner-up and will be in the mix for one of the individual qualifying spots if her team isn't in the position to finish among the top three.
Kelley Selheimer (Bloomsburg), Briana Hennett (East Stroudsburg), and the California duo of Malia Anderson and Madeline Curtis are others to watch.
Top out-of-state Competition
Atlantic Region No.1 Charleston (West Virginia) is the team to beat. The Golden Eagles will be on title defense and likely won't face much opposition. Charleston beat other top-ranked Atlantic Region teams and Midwest Region No.7 Walsh (Rankings via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) with ease earlier this season at the LHU Invitational.
We should also discuss Davis and Elkins. Davis and Elkins is the current Atlantic Region No.3 team (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) that beat Slippery Rock by one point earlier in the season. However, the reason they appear beatable for other teams is that they aren't looking as strong as they once did. If they want to qualify, they must get their mojo back.
Men - 11:45 AM
Qualifying - 3 Teams and 2 Individuals
The Team Race
Atlantic Region No.2 Shippensburg (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) is the top PA team in the Regional Championship. Garrett Quinan and Aiden Gonder hit the 1-2 punch at the PSAC Championship to lead the Raiders to the team title. Ryan Wolfe and Hayden Hunt also finished in the top five, with Nathan Harding finishing 14th to round out Shippensburg's top five. They have the potential to do some damage at the regional meet.
Atlantic Region No.3 Slippery Rock (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) will also be in the mix. Slippery Rock is another team with a solid line-up of runners, with the likes of Ethan Brentham, Joey Cintavey, and Troy Hart. Slippery Rock had a close match-up with Davis and Elkins (West Virginia), beating them by only one point at the LHU Invitational earlier in the season.
Indiana and East Stroudsburg are other solid PA teams to watch.
Standout Individuals
Eric Alu (Edinboro), Joel Beckwith (Indiana), and Jonathan Thrush (California) are all runners that will be battling for individual qualifying spots. Notably, Thrush was an individual national qualifier after finishing 6th at the 2022 Atlantic Regional Championships.
Noah Bernarding (California), Alec Bidwell (Mercyhurst), and Ryan Duff (Bloomsburg) are individuals who could surprise us on Saturday.
Top out-of-state Competition
Atlantic Region No.1 Charleston (West Virginia) will be the top team in Saturday's contest (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll). The Golden Eagles will be looking to defend their team title from 2022.
Atlantic Region No.4 Davis and Elkins (Ranking via USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll) has the potential for a top-three team finish. As mentioned above, they only lost to Slippery Rock by one point earlier in the season. This team will undoubtedly have individuals like Jan Thewes and Henry Schmidt battling in the lead pack.
Don't overlook Concord's (West Virginia) Preston Prather's as a potential individual qualifier. He could also lead his squad to be a possible underdog team.
2022 Winners - Individuals | Teams
Women: 21:07.5 (6k) - Kylie Anicic (Edinboro 24') | Charleston
Men: 29:25.0 (9.5k) - Isaac Prather (Concord 23') | Charleston