The Forester cross country teams finished the 2021 season at the NCAA Division III Midwest Region Championship Meet on Saturday with the women placing 21st and the men 28th.
The men's 8-kilometer race was first and Lake Forest was led by freshman Michael Kurtz, whose season-best time of 27:56.6 was good for 138th place in the 217-runner field. He out-sprinted Forester senior Christian Reyes, who was just two places back in 27:58.2. Fellow senior Julián Cano was next in 29:57.8, freshman Bart Brophy finished with a time of 30:57.2, and senior Mathieu Norcross rounded out the team's top five in 32:02.6.
As she has been in every other race this fall, junior Madeline Morland was the Foresters' top finisher on the women's side on Saturday. She completed the 6-kilometer course 23:07.7, which ranks 13th in program history and placed her 45th in the regional field. Graduate student Audrey Paglia was next on the team and 119th of 163 competitors overall in 24:56.5. With a time of 25:04.2, freshman Delfina Jorgensen was the next runner to cross the line. Sophomore Kenza Kantour finished in 29:16.1 and junior Mary Laura Carey four-tenths-of-a-second later.
Wartburg College was the team champion in both races and will earned automatic qualification to next weekend's NCAA Division III Championships.