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The Butler cross country team continues championship season on Friday, Nov. 9 as they compete in the 2018 Division I Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Championships. The race will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championships Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind.

"We are looking forward to the Great Lakes Regional this coming Friday. Our training is geared to run well in the championship phase of the season and the regional championship is an annual focal point for our program.  Both teams are fit and ready to compete," head coach Matt Roe said.

The women will take on a 6K course beginning at 11:15 a.m. ET. The men will follow at approximately 12:15 p.m., competing in a 10K race. This is the same course used for Indiana State's John McNichols Invitational, where the Bulldog women took first place as a team earlier this season.

The Butler women are coming off a fourth place finish at the BIG EAST Championships. Josephine Thestrup was the top Bulldog finisher, traveling the course in 21:06.2 for ninth overall. Following Thestrup was sophomore Angelina Ellis in a time of 21:30.0 for 15^th overall. Thestrup earned All-BIG EAST First Team (#1-10 overall finishers) for her top 10 finish, while Ellis landed on the All-BIG EAST Second Team (#11-20 overall finishers) for her top 20 finish.

Maddie McLain was the third Bulldog finisher, running the course in 21:45.7 for 21^st overall. Camille Hines (21:48.7, 23^rd) and Margo Hornocker (22:04.5, 29^th) round out the Bulldog scoring five. Mia Beckham finished 35^th in a time of 22:42.1 and Corinna Pena finished 52^nd in a time of 23:27.2.

The women's race will feature 34 teams from across the region. The Bulldogs will run the same team they ran in the BIG EAST Championships.

The Butler men finished third at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championships.  The Bulldogs placed all five of their runners among the top 17 spots, with Euan Makepeace finishing fifth individually, crossing the line in 24:29.4 as 85 runners navigated the 8k course. Barry Keane finished sixth (24:42.0).

Bobby Johnson was the third Bulldog across the line, claiming the 12^th spot in 25:08.7. He and teammate Johnny Leverenz (13^th, 25:09.7) passed several runners over the final kilometer for important points. Butler's fifth scorer was Clark Otte, who came in 17^th at 25:12.7.

All five Bulldogs earned All-BIG EAST honors with Makepeace and Keane taking home first-team accolades, while Johnson, Leverenz and Otte got recognition on the second team.

The men have declared eight Bulldogs for the regional, with Makepeace, Keane, Johnson, Leverenz, Otte, Eric Baugh, Daniel Garcia, and Daniel Lawton, towing the line. The Bulldog men will compete against 30 teams from around the Great Lakes Region.

The Bulldogs look to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 17. A total of 31 teams compete as a team at the NCAA DI Championships on both the men's and women's side. 18 bids are automatic (top two teams in each of nine regions), 13 bids are at-large. 

After teams have been determined, 38 additional individuals per gender are selected to compete at the NCAA Championships. Among individuals not selected as members of qualifying teams in the above process, the top four finishers at each regional meet are automatically selected (each must have finished within the top 25 of the region). Two additional athletes will be selected from the remainder of the national pool (and must have finished in the regional top 25) as at-large individuals.