Five things to know: Badgers head south for NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Friday, November 14

Evansville, IN

10:00 AM

Wisconsin Badgers

2025 NCAA Great Lakes Regional

Photo by: Suvir Grover

Five things to know: Badgers head south for NCAA Great Lakes Regional

November 10, 2025 | Men's Cross Country

Badgers prepare for penultimate postseason event

By: Dani Savin

MADISON, Wis. – The postseason continues as the No. 15 UW men's cross country team prepares to head west for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 15. The races will take place at Angle Mounds Historic Site in Evansville, IN. The women will compete in the 6k race at 10:00 a.m. CT with the men's 10k race to follow at 11:00 a.m. CT.

The top-two teams from the meet will punch their ticket to the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championship held in Columbia, Mo. on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Admission costs $10 but there is no associated cost with spectator parking. The course is located at 8215 Pollack Ave, Evansville, IN 47715.

Fans can follow along @BadgerTrackXC on X and Instagram. Live results will be available through PTTiming.

LAST YEAR AT REGIONALS: The 2024 NCAA Great Lakes Regional saw the Badgers secure their seventh-straight NCAA Championship bid. All five team scorers placed top-20, finishing second overall with 82 points, just behind regional champion Notre Dame who scored 70 points. Leading the way for Wisconsin was graduate student Rowen Ellenberg, who crossed the line in 14th place with a time of 29 minutes, 34.2 seconds. Bob Liking, Matan Ivri and Adam Spencer followed right behind Ellenberg, taking spots 15 through 17 on the scoreboard. Micah Wilson rounded out Wisconsin's scoring with a 20th-place finish.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Badgers finished third at the 2025 Big Ten Championships at the Forest Akers East Gold Course in East Lansing, Michigan. Sophomore Christian de Vaal led the Badgers with an eighth-place finish, crossing the finish line in 23 minutes, 36.2 seconds. This marks the eighth consecutive year that UW secured a top-3 team finish.

CLOSE COMPETITION: Michigan State holds the top spot in the regional rankings after a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championship with 68 points, just ahead of Wisconsin and Michigan, who placed third with 90 points and fourth with 100 points. After securing the win at the 2025 Big East Cross Country, Butler entered the mix, ranked No. 14 in the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll.

BACK IN INDY: The Badgers return to Evansville for the first time since 2021. This marked the fourth straight year and 58th time in program history that the Badgers qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing second at the regional meet. Ranked No. 9 at the time, the Badgers scored 87 points, trailing only sixth-ranked Notre Dame who tallied 37 points while edging out Michigan who took third at 106 points. Graduate student Olin Hacker led Wisconsin with an eighth-place finish, crossing the line with a personal best of 30 minutes, 2.1 seconds.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE HORIZON: The entire field for the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships will be announced on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. on NCAA.com. The top-two teams from each of the nine regions, along with 14 at large teams, will be selected to compete at the NCAA meet along with 38 individuals.

The 2025 NCAA Cross Country will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo. Fans are encouraged to purchase parking and tickets ahead of time here: https://am.ticketmaster.com/mizzou/buy/xcnationals