University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, November 13
Ames, IA
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
NCAA Midwest Regional
11/11/2026 3:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
The #22/28 Golden Gopher Cross Country program continues its postseason schedule on Friday, Nov. 13 in Ames, Iowa, for the 2026 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. The women's 6K race will begin at 11 AM followed by the men's 8K race at Noon. Live scoring will be available at pttiming.com.
ABOUT THE REGIONAL
The 2026 NCAA Midwest Regional will be held at the Iowa State Cross Country Course in Ames, Iowa on Friday, November 13.
The regional championships help teams advance to the Division I cross country championships each year. The top two teams in each regional secure automatic bids to the championship. The first four regional individual finishers not from an automatic qualifying or at-large team also secure an auto-bid to the championships.
If a team doesn't secure an automatic bid, it will have to rely on the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee to select it as one of the remaining at-large teams to fill the 32-team field at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Only two individual at-large student-athletes are selected, making a strong regional performance pivotal to advancing toward a national title.
At-large selections will be announced on Saturday.
NCAA REGIONAL ROSTER
The Gopher men and women will each have seven competitors in Friday's races.
Men
Aloysius Franzen (74th; 2025)
Emmett Gerres (33rd; 2025)
Shane Griepentrog (NCAA debut)
Aidan Jones (30th; 2025 | 29th; 2024)
Sam Scott (36th; 2025)
Nolan Sutter (NCAA debut)
Salvador Wirth (NCAA debut)
Women
Zoie Dundon (29th; 2025 | DNS; 2024)
Norah Hushagen (61st; 2025)
Taylor Isabel (38th; 2025 | DNS; 2024)
Jazleen Malherek-Osorio (NCAA debut)
Izzy Roemer (35th; 2025 | 16th; 2024)
Isabelle Schmitz (19th; 2025 | 15th; 2024)
Ali Weimer (2nd; 2024 | 30th; 2023 | 12th; 2022)
NCAA REGIONAL HISTORY
The Minnesota men are trying to complete the trifecta as they entered the national rankings and had its best Big Ten finish since 2021, the same year the team last reached the NCAA Championships.
Senior Aidan Jones will lead the Minnesota contingent in his third NCAA Regional appearance after finishing 30th in 2025 and 29th in 2024. Senior Emmett Gerres and junior Sam Scott finished 33rd and 36th, respectively, last year, while sophomore Aloysius Franzen was 74th to cap his rookie season.
The Gopher women will have five runners on Friday that were part of the 2024 team that finished 18th at the NCAA Championships. At the regional that year in Peoria, Ill., Weimer led Minnesota with a second-place finish. Junior Isabelle Schmitz and fifth-year Izzy Roemer recorded top-20 finishes in 15th and 16th place, respectively.
After redshirting last season, Weimer will be making her fourth regional appearance, while Roemer, Schmitz, Zoie Dundon, Taylor Isabel are running for the third time.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Minnesota enters Friday's race with its men ranked third in the region and the women fourth.
USTFCCCA Men's Midwest Regional Rankings (National Rank)
1. Oklahoma State (3)
2. Iowa State (10)
3. Minnesota (22)
4. Tulsa (30)
5. Missouri
USTFCCCA Women's Midwest Regional Rankings (National Rank)
1. Oklahoma State (8)
2. Missouri (20)
3. Northwestern (21)
4. Minnesota (28)
5. Iowa State (25)
LAST TIME OUT
Highlighted by four all-conference runners, Minnesota earned a fourth-place men's finish and fifth-place women's finish at the 2026 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wis. The Gophers joined Big Ten Champion Oregon as the only programs with top-five finishes in both races.
The Gopher women had a pair of first-team All-Big Ten honorees for the first time since 2021 as fifth-year Ali Weimer and junior Isabelle Schmitz finished fifth and sixth, respectively. They are also the first Gopher duo to place in the top six since 2017. On the men's side, seniors Aidan Jones and Emmett Gerres placed 16th and 17th, respectively, to earn second-team laurels. They are the first Minnesota duo to do so since 2016.
UP NEXT
The 2026 NCAA Cross Championships will be held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, November 21.
ABOUT THE REGIONAL
The 2026 NCAA Midwest Regional will be held at the Iowa State Cross Country Course in Ames, Iowa on Friday, November 13.
The regional championships help teams advance to the Division I cross country championships each year. The top two teams in each regional secure automatic bids to the championship. The first four regional individual finishers not from an automatic qualifying or at-large team also secure an auto-bid to the championships.
If a team doesn't secure an automatic bid, it will have to rely on the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee to select it as one of the remaining at-large teams to fill the 32-team field at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. Only two individual at-large student-athletes are selected, making a strong regional performance pivotal to advancing toward a national title.
At-large selections will be announced on Saturday.
NCAA REGIONAL ROSTER
The Gopher men and women will each have seven competitors in Friday's races.
Men
Aloysius Franzen (74th; 2025)
Emmett Gerres (33rd; 2025)
Shane Griepentrog (NCAA debut)
Aidan Jones (30th; 2025 | 29th; 2024)
Sam Scott (36th; 2025)
Nolan Sutter (NCAA debut)
Salvador Wirth (NCAA debut)
Women
Zoie Dundon (29th; 2025 | DNS; 2024)
Norah Hushagen (61st; 2025)
Taylor Isabel (38th; 2025 | DNS; 2024)
Jazleen Malherek-Osorio (NCAA debut)
Izzy Roemer (35th; 2025 | 16th; 2024)
Isabelle Schmitz (19th; 2025 | 15th; 2024)
Ali Weimer (2nd; 2024 | 30th; 2023 | 12th; 2022)
NCAA REGIONAL HISTORY
The Minnesota men are trying to complete the trifecta as they entered the national rankings and had its best Big Ten finish since 2021, the same year the team last reached the NCAA Championships.
Senior Aidan Jones will lead the Minnesota contingent in his third NCAA Regional appearance after finishing 30th in 2025 and 29th in 2024. Senior Emmett Gerres and junior Sam Scott finished 33rd and 36th, respectively, last year, while sophomore Aloysius Franzen was 74th to cap his rookie season.
The Gopher women will have five runners on Friday that were part of the 2024 team that finished 18th at the NCAA Championships. At the regional that year in Peoria, Ill., Weimer led Minnesota with a second-place finish. Junior Isabelle Schmitz and fifth-year Izzy Roemer recorded top-20 finishes in 15th and 16th place, respectively.
After redshirting last season, Weimer will be making her fourth regional appearance, while Roemer, Schmitz, Zoie Dundon, Taylor Isabel are running for the third time.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
Minnesota enters Friday's race with its men ranked third in the region and the women fourth.
USTFCCCA Men's Midwest Regional Rankings (National Rank)
1. Oklahoma State (3)
2. Iowa State (10)
3. Minnesota (22)
4. Tulsa (30)
5. Missouri
USTFCCCA Women's Midwest Regional Rankings (National Rank)
1. Oklahoma State (8)
2. Missouri (20)
3. Northwestern (21)
4. Minnesota (28)
5. Iowa State (25)
LAST TIME OUT
Highlighted by four all-conference runners, Minnesota earned a fourth-place men's finish and fifth-place women's finish at the 2026 Big Ten Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wis. The Gophers joined Big Ten Champion Oregon as the only programs with top-five finishes in both races.
The Gopher women had a pair of first-team All-Big Ten honorees for the first time since 2021 as fifth-year Ali Weimer and junior Isabelle Schmitz finished fifth and sixth, respectively. They are also the first Gopher duo to place in the top six since 2017. On the men's side, seniors Aidan Jones and Emmett Gerres placed 16th and 17th, respectively, to earn second-team laurels. They are the first Minnesota duo to do so since 2016.
UP NEXT
The 2026 NCAA Cross Championships will be held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, November 21.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross CountryFriday, September 18
Friday, September 19
Tuesday, September 02
Monday, November 25