The University of Illinois Springfield cross country team competed at the 2019 NCAA Division II Midwest Region Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Evansville, Ind. Both teams had their top regional finishes, and the program earned its first NCAA Division II National Championships individual qualifier.
 
Taryn Christy punched her ticket to Sacramento, Calif. with a strong finishing spurt. She was in 15th place with 600m remaining, but passed 10 runners to finish fifth overall and earn an automatic spot in the national championships. Christy had a time of 21:09.9, which was a new school record, and crossed the finish line less than a second ahead of the sixth-place runner.
 
As a team, the UIS women had a final score of 395, which placed it 15th out of 32 teams. That was four spots higher than its previous best finish at the event. Savannah Brannan finished 50th overall with a time of 22:20, and Gloria Esarco also had a top-100 finish with a mark of 23:12. Alexa Thomsen and Morgan Suttles rounded out the scoring for the women with times of 23:27 and 23:53, respectively.
 
On the men's side, UIS finished with 210 points and was eighth overall, five spots better than its previous best.
 
Two Prairie Stars men's runners earned all-region honors for top-25 finishes. Blake Jones was eighth with a time of 31:42, and Tyler Pasley was 22nd with a mark of 32:19. Jones remains eligible for a possible at-large berth to nationals, which will be announced on Monday.
 
The other UIS scorers were all in the top-100. Ryan Stark was 41st with a time of 33:04, Tyler Hiserote was 53rd with a mark of 33:21, and Spencer Mauch was 86th after completing the course in 33:59.
 
The 2019 NCAA Division II National Championships will be held on Nov. 23 in Sacramento, Calif.