Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee men's and women's cross country teams are preparing to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet. The event, hosted by Wisconsin, will take place on Friday at the Zimmer Championship Course in Madison. The women's 6K race is scheduled to start at 11:30 AM, followed by the men's 10K race at 12:30 PM.

Spectators planning to support the Panthers should note that parking will be available at Blackhawk Church in Middleton, Wisconsin, rather than at the course itself. A shuttle service will operate from 9:30 AM until one hour after the conclusion of the men's race.

In their previous outing, the women's team secured a third-place finish at the Horizon League Championship meet, trailing behind Oakland and Purdue Fort Wayne. Anelise Egge delivered an impressive performance with a time of 21:17.7, marking her career-best and earning her fifth place individually along with First-Team All Horizon League honors. Cailin Kinas finished next for Milwaukee in 22nd place, while Eileen Tocco, Brittany Helm, and Ally Schmitz completed the scoring positions for the team in 27th, 30th, and 32nd places respectively. Both Tocco and Schmitz achieved new personal bests during this meet.

The men's team concluded their competition with a seventh-place finish and accumulated a total of 188 points. Bryce Tome made his mark in Milwaukee's record books with a time of 24:49.48, placing him fifth all-time for the program. His performance earned him a 16th-place finish in the race, narrowly missing out on all-league honors by two spots. Aidan Sodemann, Lucas Picco, and Carter Eckhoff were the next Panthers to cross the finish line in positions 41st through 43rd respectively. Notably, Picco set a new personal record with his time of 25:52.34.

To qualify for the National Championship meet, teams must either secure a top-two finish or receive one of thirteen available at-large bids. Additionally, individual runners who are among the first four finishers not part of qualifying teams will earn automatic bids for nationals; two individual at-large spots are also available.