William Zegarski raced to an NCAA Great Lakes Regional championship Friday morning, navigating the 10k Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan, in a time of 29:55.0.
 
Zegarski was 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Patrick Kiprop of Toledo. Zegarski also won the Regional in 2024 and finished fourth in the Regional race in 2025. He is the first Butler male to win two Great Lakes Regional titles, and he's the first Butler male to be All-Region four times, joining Katie Clark on the women's side.

Zegarski's effort led the Bulldogs to a fifth-place regional finish in the team standings.
 
Toledo won the Great Lakes regional, placing three runners among the top five. The Rockets had a score of 59, narrowly edging Notre Dame (66). The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 16 in this week's poll. Host No. 21 Michigan State (106), No. 12 Wisconsin (109), No. 29 Butler (116), and No. 28 Michigan (118) followed among the top six teams in the 31-team field.
 
Butler had four runners finish between 25^th and 37^th in Simon Jeukenne, Graham Tomori, Sean Byrnes, and Kyle Grove.
 
The Butler Men (10k):
1) William Zegarski, 29:55.0
25) Simon Jeukenne, 30:44.6
26) Graham Tomori, 30:45.7
27) Sean Byrnes, 30:46.4
37) Kyle Grove, 30:56.4
53) Matteo Rosio, 31:15.1
70) Asher Propst, 31:28.1

Including Friday, Hannah Moore has been Butler's top finisher in all five meets this season. Moore finished 51^st at the regional, covering the 6k course in a time of 21:32.8. Hana Boggess and Ella Olthof both posted Top 100 finishes.
 
The Bulldogs placed 14^th among the 34 teams in the field. Toledo, ranked No. 15 nationally in this week's poll, won the Great Lakes Regional, placing their top four runners among the first six finishers. Karina James won the race in a time of 19:55.2.
 
Toledo (score of 31) was followed on the leaderboard by No. 13 Notre Dame (60), Michigan (117), Indiana (120), and Michigan State (185).
 
The Butler Women (6k):
51) Hannah Moore, 21:32.8
64) Hana Boggess, 21:42.5
88) Ella Olthof, 22:01.4
104) Poppy Healy, 22:12.9
119) Mckenna Mazeski, 22:26.0
125) Callie Bentley, 22:30.1
125) Emily Berger, 22:30.1

Regionals across the country Friday will go a long way in determining the teams who comprise the field at the NCAA Championships later this month in Terre Haute, Indiana. The top two teams at each regional earn automatic berths to the NCAA Championships. Eighteen spots among the 32-team field are solidified at the nine NCAA regionals with the final 14 coming in an at-large capacity.
 
Butler has an active streak of six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. The NCAA Selection Show for the Championships is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, the day after all nine regional meets conclude. The 2026 NCAA Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 21 on the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Indiana.