Full Results (.pdf) I Photo Gallery I Antonio McDaniel Post Race Interview

MADISON, Wisc. - With fifth-year senior Rachel Zajac leading the way, the IUPUI women's cross country team earned its best-ever finish at the Great Lakes Regional Meet on Friday (Nov. 15), placing 18th of 33 teams with a score of 512 at the Thomas Zimmer Cross Country Course. IUPUI's previous best efforts were a pair of 21st place finishes, most recently in 2011.

Friday marked the program's first-ever top 20 finish as the Jaguars' continue to trend upwards, both in The Summit League and in the Great Lakes Region. 

"The meet went pretty well. Everyone ran pretty well," Head Coach Antonio McDaniel said. "With it being the best finish in school history and us beating some teams we hadn't beaten before, we really ended the season on a high note. 

"It kind of put us in a new realm of teams in the region, which is a real positive going into next season."

Zajac, who was the top runner on the 2011 squad as well, covered the 6K course in a time of 21:43, placing 55th of 227 runners. Her time was the second-fastest 6K time in IUPUI history and 23 seconds off her own school record. Junior Jordan Hanaway was 91st overall in a time of 22:19, tying her with Becca Downs for the 12th quickest effort in school history. 

"Rachel ran a solid race and Jordan moved up throughout the whole race. They both looked really strong and ran good races," McDaniel said.

Sophomore Leah Brooks ran with Hanaway for much of the race, but tailed off down the stretch to finish 105th at 22:39. Meanwhile, freshman Savannah Turner was 126th at 22:55 and UW-Oshkosh-transfer Allie DeBaker was 136th at 23:02. Sophomore Lexi Hunt and freshman Valeria Guzman rounded out the Jaguars' lineup in 183rd and 196th, respectively. Hunt crossed at 23:53 and Guzman finished at 24:13. 

Michigan won the team title with 48 points and Butler was second with 67. Michigan State (73), Notre Dame (134) and host Wisconsin (136) rounded out the top five. IUPUI was just 21 points behind Bowling Green and easily cleared Youngstown State by 47 points. The Jaguars also finished ahead of in-state foes Indiana State, Evansville, IPFW, Ball State and Valparaiso.

Ohio's Juli Accurso repeated as individual champion, running a time of 20:00 to finish nine seconds in front of Michigan freshman Erin Finn.

The Jaguars' will graduate Zajac and DeBaker from this year's postseason lineup, but otherwise return the bulk of the roster next season. Zajac was a five-time Summit League Athlete of the Week this season and earned Second Team All-Summit League at the championship meet two weeks ago. DeBaker was a welcome late addition to the recruiting class, having already run three years at UW-Oshkosh before coming to IUPUI to attend graduate school. 

Team Results
1. Michigan - 48
2. Butler - 67
3. Michigan State - 73
4. Notre Dame - 134
5. Wisconsin - 136
6. Indiana - 218
7. Ohio State - 221
8. Toledo - 227
9. Central Michigan - 263
10. Xavier - 273
11. Miami (Ohio) - 328
12. Eastern Michigan - 339
13. Purdue - 356
14. Marquette - 381
15. Ohio - 459
16. Dayton - 459
17. Bowling Green - 491
18. IUPUI - 512
19. Youngstown State - 559
20. Indiana State - 591
21. Western Michigan - 651
22. Evansville - 696
23. IPFW - 710
24. Oakland - 712
25. Kent State - 716
26. Detroit - 758
27. UW-Milwaukee - 810
28. Ball State - 819
29. Cincinnati - 825
30. Valparaiso - 891
31. UW-Green Bay - 939
32. Cleveland State - 966
33. Wright State - 981

Individual Results
55. Rachel Zajac - 21:43
90. Jordan Hanaway - 22:19
105. Leah Brooks - 22:39
126. Savannah Turner - 22:55
136. Allie DeBaker - 23:02
183. Lexi Hunt - 23:53
196. Valeria Guzman - 24:13