NCAA Great Lakes Regional Page

DETROIT -- The Detroit men's and women's cross country teams will look to post their best races of the season as the Titans take part in the NCAA Division I Great Lakes Regional, held at the Katke-Cousins Golf Course at Oakland University.

The women's race 6k race is scheduled to start at noon, while the men's race 10k will begin at 1:15 p.m.

Each team is permitted to run a squad of seven individuals, with the top two teams and top four individuals on non-qualifying teams qualifying for the NCAA Championship. In addition, the top 25 finishers earn All-Region honors.

“The NCAA Great Lakes Regional is a unique opportunity for our student-athletes,” said head coach Guy Murray. “We line up the teams in the region, fire the gun and the top two teams earn a spot to the NCAA championships. Everyone has a shot to qualify. Our regional is a good as any so it is the toughest test we face and we look forward to the challenge to see how measure up.”

The men will run a very experienced team in seniors Ryan Ayala, Alex Harris, Pat Liederbach and Kevin Smalley along with junior Bob Radlich sophomore Edwin Gay and freshman Martin Nelkie.

For Liederbach and Smalley, they will join a select group of Titans as they are just the 17th and 18th runners in school history to compete in four regionals since UDM began competing in the meets in 1976.

“Our goal is to break the 500-point barrier and get back in the top 20, which would be great way for the seniors to finish up,” said Murray. “We have a team that is very capable of handling the 10k and they are running pretty good so our goal seems very reasonable.”

Liederbach will also look to challenge the Titan record books. If he is able to finish in the top 100, he will be just the third Titan harrier to post four top 100 finishes, joining join Ken Dubois and Chris McPhee. Dubois owns the top overall finish with a 23rd-place effort in 1985, as well as the top time with a 31:03 tally in 1986. Liederbach's best regional outing was 60th last year, while Harris also had a top 100 run taking 81st.

“Pat has really been running well the last month and our goal is for him to challenge for a top 25 slot. He is definitely capable of accomplishing it and needs to put it all together and run tough,” added Murray.

The men last competed in the Horizon League Championship on Oct 30, where they took fifth. Liederbach was fourth in the race, which game him first team All-HL accolades.

The field will be tough with the likes of No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 12 Indiana, No. 30 Notre Dame, No. 34 Michigan State and No. 37 Ohio State in the mix.

The women will go with junior Kirstin Mooney, sophomores Sarah Martinez, Katrina Oberski and Alexandria Vintevoghel and freshmen Victoria Eger, Rachel Hofsess and Cecilia Pope.

“We hope to improve on the finish from last year,” Murray said. “We need everyone to run well and are capable of doing it and finishing the season on a positive note to continue our building process. Only three of our seven runners have run a regional race so this is a big learning experience.”

The women took eighth at the Horizon League Championships their last time out. The group was led by sophomore Alexandria Vintevoghel, who has finished as the top Titan in every race on the year. She took 26th in 19:21 at the HL meet and will look to improve on her 175th place mark at last year's regional.

Mooney and Oberski have been in the top four for UDM throughout the year and will look to end the season with a personal record. Mooney earned 28th at the conference meet and brings the most experience to the race with two regionals to her credit, while Oberski placed 32nd at the league championships.

“Alexandria got knocked down last year and we will need her to lead us with a good run,” quoted Murray. “Kirstin and Katrina have had very good years and can help us achieve the improved goal with good races.”

The women's side will also have a number of ranked teams in No. 16 Michigan State, No. 18 Michigan, No. 30 Toledo, No. 31 Indiana and No. 35 Ohio State.