Youngstown State University
NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship
11/13/2026 12:35:00 PM | Cross Country
The Youngstown State women's cross country team made history Friday morning at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, posting a program-best 15th-place finish out of 34 teams with 454 points.
The men finished 10th out of 31 teams with 349 points, improving two spots from last season's 12th-place finish. It also marks the first time since 2024 that all five scoring runners have finished in the top 100.
McKinley Fielding made history individually, finishing 21st out of 235 runners to become the second highest-finishing woman in program history, behind Laura Thomas' third-place finish in 1997 at the regional meet. With her top-25 finish, Fielding is eligible to be selected by the NCAA Division I Cross Country Subcommittee as an individual qualifier for the national championships. She posted a 6K time of 20:56.6.
Erica Kaulen and Caleigh Richards ran together, finishing 49th and 50th, respectively. In her first regional race, Kaulen posted a 6K time of 21:31.2, while Richards improved 25 places from last season's regional meet with a time of 21:31.3.
The Penguins also had three runners finish in the top 50 for the first time in program history.
In their regional debuts, Cecelia Chase and Brady Sterbling stayed close together, with Chase placing 169th and Sterbling finishing 171st. Chase ran a time of 23:03.6, while Sterbling posted a time of 23:05.3.
Maggie Hopple finished 176th with a time of 23:15.6, and Megan Stafford placed 198th with a time of 23:37.5.
Toledo won the team title with 31 points, while Notre Dame finished second with 60 points. Both teams earn automatic qualifying spots for the national championships on Nov. 21. Individually, Toledo swept the top three spots, with the Rockets' Karina James winning the race.
Patrick Burgos led the men's side with a personal-best 10K time of 31:12.9, which now ranks seventh in program history. He also recorded a career-best 50th-place finish, improving 123 spots from his 2025 regional race.
In his regional debut, Josh Jones placed 68th with a personal-best 10K time of 31:27.2. His time now ranks 10th all-time in program history.
Blaze Fichter finished 71st, improving three places from last year's race with a time of 31:29.6. Owen Brady placed 74th, improving 57 spots from 2025 with a time of 31:33.4.
Owen Scott rounded out the scoring efforts with an 86th-place finish and a time of 31:43.5.
Caleb Prettyman and Sage Vavro finished 93rd and 171st, respectively.
Toledo won the team title with 59 points, while Notre Dame finished second with 66 points. Both teams earned automatic qualifying spots for the national championships. Butler's William Zegarski won the race with a time of 29:55.0.
The 2026 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Selection Show will air Friday, Nov. 14, at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
