CANTON, Ohio- Pioneer Park in Canton, Ohio is set to host the 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning.
 
The Great Midwest features multiple regionally and nationally ranked programs from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 
The women’s 6K event will begin at 10:30 A.M. ET followed by the men’s 8K at 11:30 A.M.
 
Individual awards will also be presented including the Coach of the Year, Runner of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and the Elite 26 award, which recognizes a male and female student-athlete at the conference championship level with the highest cumulative GPA.

 
Women’s 6K Preview
The defending conference champions Cedarville are ranked in the top 20 of the week five edition of the USTFCCCA poll. The Yellow Jackets are ranked third in the most recent Midwest Regional poll, behind Grand Valley and Lewis.
 
Head coach Jeff Bolender has built a successful program in Cedarville, who has claimed the Great Midwest title seven times since 2012. The Yellow Jackets are coming off of a runner-up finish at the Alabama-Huntsville Invitational, behind No. 17 Tampa. Graduate Student Hannah Rhem has proven to be one of the conference’s top runners this season. Rhem has totaled two individual wins and has the fastest 5K time so far this year at 17:24.00. Rhem, along with Savannah Ackley and Naomi Herman, return as top-ten finishers from last year’s meet.
 
Walsh is No. 7 in the Midwest Region and have two Great Midwest titles, winning in 2020 and 2018. The Cavaliers most recently finished 12^th out of 33 teams at the DII Crossover, hosted by Lewis.
 
Liz Wamsley returns for Hillsdale as one of the league’s top athletes. Wamsley earned All-American status at the national meet last year, finishing in 22^nd place with a time of 21:08.9. This season, Wamsley holds the top 6K time at 21:06.90.
 
Men’s 8K Preview
Walsh, Tiffin, and Cedarville are all ranked in the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Poll. Walsh has also earned a spot in the national poll at No. 14.
 
Rob Mizicko, who was voted as the Great Midwest Coach of the Year last season, returns a talented young group, led by junior Mitchel Dunham. Dunham recorded his best finish earlier this season at the Tommy Evans Invite, where he ran a 6K time of 18:34.9, good enough for a third place finish.
 
Tiffin is seventh in the region, followed by Cedarville in 10^th.

Freshman Talel Khalfi has made a huge impact for the Dragons this season, leading Tiffin to two first-place finishes. Earlier this year, Khalfi was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, after winning his second straight race and earning back-to-back Great Midwest Athlete of the Week honors. He currently has the top 8K time this year at 23:40.6.
 
For Cedarville, All-American Evan Leist leads the way for the Yellow Jackets, who most recently earned a third-place finish at the Wilmington Classic. Cedarville has won five conference titles and will look to add to that number this weekend.
 
The Findlay duo of Noah Fisher and Jordan Foster have led the Oilers all year. Fisher was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week earlier this season after winning the All-Ohio Challenge. He has the second and third best 8K time this season, followed by teammate Jordan Foster in fourth and fifth. The two will look to lead Findlay to their first men’s cross country championship title.
 
Following the conclusion of the Great Midwest Cross Country Championships, student-athletes will begin preparation for the NCAA Midwest Regionals on Nov. 18 in Joplin, MO.
 
More information on the Great Midwest Cross Country Championship can be found HERE .