McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's and women's cross country teams are preparing for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship in Waverly, Iowa, on Saturday, November 11. The men's eight-kilometer race will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the women's six-kilometer race at noon.

The Illinois Wesleyan women's team recently achieved a second-place finish at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Championship. Sophomore Adriana Crabtree led the team with a time of 22:11.0, earning her only the third individual conference crown in IWU's program history. "Crabtree was voted the Women's CCIW Student-Athlete of the Meet while earning First Team All-CCIW honors."

Other notable performances included junior Annalese Chudy, who finished eighth with a time of 23:18.7 to earn First Team honors. Freshman Brooke Nazos and senior Amanda Wilson also earned Second Team accolades with their respective finishes in 13th (23:35.3) and 15th (23:45.2).

On the men's side, IWU finished seventh in the CCIW Championship. Junior Nick Fisch recorded a personal-best time of 26:30.1 to place 27th overall. Sophomore Zack Daniel and junior Ernie Waterson completed IWU's top three finishers in 37th (26:51.2) and 48th (27:19.1), respectively.

This year's Midwest Regional is hosted by Wartburg College, which holds a No. 2 regional ranking for both men's and women's teams. North Central College leads the men's rankings, while the University of Chicago is ranked first for women. Illinois Wesleyan's women's team ranks seventh in the region according to the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association coaches poll.

The races will take place at Max Cross Country Course in Waverly, Iowa, with live results available online and official results posted on IWUsports.com after both races conclude.