Written by Jadyn Forbes
BVU Sports Information Student Intern

BATAVIA, Ill.  (Nov. 13, 2022) – The Buena Vista University Cross Country teams had the opportunity to run in Batavia, Illinois, at the NCAA Regional Meet on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Last year, the women's team did not have the opportunity to place at regionals due to injuries, but fortunately, they were able to redeem themselves this time around. On this year's course, the women collectively earned the 19^th spot out of 29 total teams.  With her cross country career as a Beaver coming to an end after this race, fifth-year, Latrice Hodges, maintained her position as the top runner and was the first to finish the women's 6k for BVU. She crossed at a time of 23:40, which was only 11 seconds off from her personal record that she accomplished when wrapping up the 2021 season. Hodges ended up placing 46^th among the other 203 runners, in total, who scored at the meet. Those who followed Hodges' performance were all fresh faces for the future of the women's program. Madisen Betcher was second to score for the Beavers, with a time of 25:50 and earning a placement of 117^th.  Zoie Callan (26:22) came across the finish line next with a placing of 126^th and following her was Lauren McCoy (25:53) who finished among a spot for 135^th. Kiera Altwine was the final one to score on the women's side (27:07) followed closely behind Mccoy, placing 138^th. The women scored a total of 551 points.
 
As the men's top runner, Kyle Miller successfully scored first for the Beavers in the 8k and placed three spots better than last year's season at the regional meet. Miller came across the finish line at a time of 26:14, and out of 230 runners in total, he earned the 46^th spot. Kaden Sadler, a sophomore, finished with a time of 26:20, only six places behind Miller. Jon Flaws, a senior, placed 103^rd and came across the finish line at a time of 27:30 for the men's third spot. Another senior, Colin Imhoff, scored for the men with a time of 27:42. Imhoff was only 13 placements behind Flaws, which earned him a placing of 115^th. Dylan Austad, a freshman, was the final scorer on the men's side with a time of 28:48 and a finish for 151^st place. Although the men's team was able to finish 13^th overall at regionals last year, they were only two placements off from that marker while achieving 15^th place out of 32 total teams this go around. When asked about the men's dedication and the entirety of performance levels for team members this season, Miller said, "The men's season ended with another great season in the books. The school record went down again, and improvements were seen throughout the season for everyone. We now hope to regroup and carry out our momentum into this upcoming track season!"

The race concluded the 2022 campaign for BVU.