Maddox Durst/The Badger Herald
For the first time since 2019, the University of Wisconsin cross country program hosted the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. With a second place finish or better amongst a tough pool of competition, UW would earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in Charlottesville, Virginia.
They did so on Friday.
It started with the women’s team — led by upperclassmen Leané Willemse and Alexa Westley — who was projected to finish in third place behind Michigan State University and the University of Notre Dame.
In the 6K competition, Willemse separated from the middle of the pack and found herself finishing in fifth place with a time of 20:18.