EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Western Michigan cross country team made history on Friday, finishing eighth as a team at the 2026 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship, its highest team finish in program history. 

Ava Kurczewski and Lillian Zelasko paced the Brown and Gold, with Kurczewski crossing the line 29th in 21:03.7 and Zelasko right behind in 30th with a time of 21:04.2. Rebekah Asselin was next in for Western Michigan, placing 55th with a time of 21:36.9. Lily Overton placed 74th with a time of 21:48.9 in her return to the lineup, and Kaelin Hughes rounded out WMU's scoring lineup by finishing 85th with a time of 21:57.4.

Also putting in strong performances for the Broncos were Madison Zarembski, who finished 106th with a time of 22:14.0, and Larissa McGrath, who clocked a time of 22:27.7 to place 122nd.

"I'm so proud of this group," WMU head coach Kevin Cataldo said. "We had the goal of finishing in the top-10 at Regionals at the start of the year, and to go out and do that to end the season is amazing. We faced some challenges and the group never gave up and that is what I am truly proud of. From 1-7 they did exactly what we had asked them to do. This was a complete team effort."

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The NCAA Championship meet is set for Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. The top teams in the nation will battle for the NCAA Championship trophy.