The UIS cross country teams are set to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Evansville, Ind. on Saturday. The meet will be hosted at the historical Angel Mounds cross country course, familiar to the Prairie Stars as it is the home course of former conference opponent Southern Indiana. 

Teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC), and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) will compete for three team spots in the national championship. Three schools from each of the eight DII regions automatically advance, while ten more programs from across the regions will still have the opportunity to earn a bid. At-large bids are decided on by the NCAA DII Cross Country Committee and announced at the beginning of the following week.

Individuals who are not on a qualifying team also have a chance at a championship berth. The top two individuals in each region automatically advance, while eight more individuals will be selected via committee.

UIS Women's Cross Country Overview
Sophomore Madelyn Miller became a first-time All-GLVC honoree two weeks ago with an 11th-place finish at the GLVC Championship.

Returners Madelyn Miller, Breanna Chandler, Jordan Serrahn, and Jade Aubrey have been consistent members of the team's top-5 this fall. The four are well-experienced in postseason races. Sophomore Emma Leahy, as well as newcomers Marissa Roggensack and Lillian Buzani have also been part of the scoring at select meets this fall.

UIS women's cross country has not earned USTFCCCA regional ranking this fall, but has shown improvement against regionally-ranked conference opponents such as Drury and Southwest Baptist over the duration of the season.

The Prairie Stars finished 5th at the GLVC Championship for their best finish since 2021 and second-best finish in the program's history. The Lewis Flyers took the team title and have a good chance to auto-qualify out of the Midwest Regional this weekend.

UIS looks to improve upon its 22nd-place finish from the 2022 NCAA DII Midwest Regional Championship.

UIS Men's Cross Country Overview
Three Prairie Stars earned All-Region honors in 2022; Wyatt McIntyre (9th), Cort Ross (13th), and Chris Cherry (23rd). Cort Ross returned to the roster this year and won the 2023 GLVC Cross Country Championship just two weeks ago. Ryan Jones is another returner for UIS with plenty of championship race experience, including taking 44th at regionals and 120th at nationals in 2022. Noah McIntyre, a returner and 3rd place finisher at the GLVC Championship, suffered a fall in the latter half of the 2022 Midwest Regional and missed All-Region honors. He went on to run well for the Prairie Stars at the NCAA DII Cross Country Championships, finishing 43rd and just missing All-American status.

UIS finished fifth at last year's regional race hosted at Wisconsin-Parkside for its program-best regional finish. The team then earned an at-large bid to the NCAA DII Championship where it managed an astonishing sixth-place finish. It was one of the highest debut finishes at a national championship in NCAA DII cross country history.

Four UIS runners earned All-GLVC honors this year; Cort Ross (1st), Noah McIntyre (3rd), Briar Nevills (10th), and Ryan Jones (17th). Ross, McIntyre, and Jones are well-decorated in their careers at UIS, while Nevills is a junior transfer from Heartland Community College who has made a major contribution to the team this fall.

The Prairie Stars were defeated by the Lewis Flyers at the conference championship by a margin of just ten points. Additional opponents to look out for include Grand Valley State, Saginaw Valley State, Walsh, and Wayne State. All are among the top-20 in the USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll while UIS was No. 26 in the most recent rankings.

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The 2023 NCAA DII Cross Country Championship races will be run at Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Mo. on Nov. 18. UIS raced on the course earlier this year for the first time.