Romeoville, Ill. – The University of Findlay men's and women's cross-country teams each traveled to Romeoville, Illinois for the 2024 NCAA DII Midwest Regional on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Oilers men finished fifth, the team's top finish at the event in program history. Findlay's women also had a good day, finishing in ninth, their highest finish since 2006. There were 27 teams competing on both the men's and the women's side.

Quotes from Coach Eric Wymer

"Success isn't only about winning, it's about learning and growing together as a team. Today's results are a testament to the dedication of our athletes. This is a big moment for both of our programs and I'm excited to see what the future holds for both teams, especially as we continue to build on this momentum. Our men will be waiting on Monday to find out if they will make nationals while our girls will now look ahead to the start of the indoor track season."

Men

The Oilers were led by graduate student Noah Fisher, a three-time Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Runner of the Year and three-time qualifier for the NCAA DII National Championship. Fisher held the lead at the 2,000-meter mark and held that lead through the first half of the race, recording a time of 17:20.03 at the 5.4k split. The Defiance, Ohio native would go on to finish fourth in the race with a time of 3:54.99, just six-tenths behind the races' runner-up. That time is the second-fastest in program history and qualifies him for a fourth-consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championship meet which will be run November 23 in Sacramento, California.

Grad student Jordan Foster, who qualified for the national championship meet in 2022, secured a top-ten finish, his best-ever finish at the event, taking eighth with a time of 31:13.47. While that finish does not automatically qualify him for the championship meet, he is in position for an at-large bid which will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 11.

Junior Simon Derstine was next across the line for the Oilers, finishing 30^th with a time of 31:48.07, his top 10k performance of his career. Also recording a personal-best was sophomore Landon Armstrong who finished 32:29.73, good for 64^th, and freshman Asher Long who was 66^th with a 32:30.87.

Senior Zack Britton (114^th | 33.24.71) and freshman Eli Lengl (147^th | 34:11.72) rounded out the Oilers lineup on Saturday.

Women

Senior Ava Beam paced the Oilers, finishing 32^nd with a time of 22:14.56. She was followed closely by junior Sarah Reinhart who crossed the line in 22:23.07, good for 37^th.

Coming in 47^th was senior Hailey Wilson with a time of 22:39.59 and in 85^th was sophomore Taylor Ward with a time of 23:26.47.

Freshman Lauren Sattler (94^th | 23:36.43), junior Claire Bachman (143^rd | 24:31.48), and junior Ella Webster (155^th | 24:55.05) wrapped up the meet for Findlay's squad.