Cross country closes season at regional meet

Carson Herbert, Sports Reporter

For both the men and women, South Dakota State’s cross country season came to an end Nov. 15 at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The men took fourth overall and the women finished 16th with 166 and 387 points, respectively.

Only the top two teams from each region earn automatic bids to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, meaning neither SDSU squad qualified for the national competition.

On the men’s side, the fourth-place finish out of the 27 teams who participated, was the Jackrabbits’ best finish yet at a regional meet. The previous high was a sixth-place performance in 2016.

Junior Micah Mather, an All-Region honoree, was the fastest Jackrabbit in the men’s race, as he finished 23rd with a time of 31:31.0. Close behind was sophomore Joseph Minor-Williams, who placed 28th with a time of 31:38.9.

Coming off a runner-up finish in the Summit League Championships, junior Anna Donnay placed 10th with a time of 20:57.0 and earned All-Region honors on the women’s side.

Tulsa (37 points) and Iowa State (54) were the top two finishers on the men’s side while Illinois (108) and Tulsa (137) qualified in the women’s competition.