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Cross Country to Compete at NCAA Midwest Regional
The Blue Demons line up with the best of the Midwest Saturday in Minneapolis for a women's 6K race and a men's 10K trek.

CHICAGO- The DePaul men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota this weekend for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.  Saturday’s championship at the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course begins with a women’s 6K race at 11 a.m. and concludes with the men’s 10K trek at 12:15 p.m.

 

The Blue Demons join a field of competition that features 28 squads from nine conferences and seven states.  The men’s race boasts No. 15 Minnesota, No. 20 Kansas, No. 23 Oklahoma State and No. 28 Iowa while the women’s race features No. 6 Minnesota, No. 13 Illinois, and No. 23 Iowa.  DePaul is the only BIG EAST school represented at the Midwest Regional and faces intrastate rivals Bradley, Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, Illinois-Champaign, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago, Southern Illinois and Western Illinois.

 

Senior Sean Conroy has paced the Blue Demon men’s team throughout the season, most recently at the BIG EAST Championships; He finished 65th overall with an 8K time of 25:26.  Conroy’s season highlights include a sixth place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 29 with a season-best 8K time of 25:03.  With a large freshman class, the Blue Demons have picked up a string of solid performances from newcomers Jeremy Applebaum, Jakub Kolacz, Luke Rygh and Nick Schaefer over the course of the season.

 

The DePaul women’s squad has been paced by senior Carrie Moffett and freshman Terah Cheatham this fall.  The duo finished within five seconds of each other at the BIG EAST Championships, as Moffett took 70th with a 6K time of 23:27 and Cheatham followed at 74th with a time of 23:32.

 

The top two teams from each regional championship automatically qualify for the Nov. 20 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.  An additional 13 teams nationwide can earn at-large bids while individuals who finish in the top 25 of their region qualify regardless of team performance.

 

The 2005 Regional Championships in Iowa City, Iowa saw the Blue Demons take 20th in the men’s race and 22nd in the women’s trek while Oklahoma State completed a sweep of both team titles.  The women’s individual crown went to Wichita State’s Desiraye Osburn, who posted a 6K time of 20:43 while Minnesota’s Antonio Vega finished the 10K in 30:52 to take the men’s individual title.