For the second year in a row, the men’s cross country team will be competing at the NCAA Division II National Championship meet.

This past weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Kenosha, Wisc. on the Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course, the men placed second out of 23 teams. Grand Valley State won with 62 points and the Eagles followed with 92 points.

The strength of the pack is what gave the men an upper hand on their competitors.

Two of the men, Brian Baum and Colton Johnson, finished within the top ten places overall. Baum placed sixth, while Johnson placed seventh.

Followed closely behind them were Jake Sussman in 15th place, Isaac Potes in 21st place and Gary Haglund in 43rd place.

As they crossed the finish line individually, the pack was only spread out by 50 seconds. Last season, the men finished in 13th place at the National Championship meet, five spots above of where they were expected to finish. Colton Johnson, Brian Baum and Jake Sussman all competed last year at the NCAA Championship, giving them some insight and motivation for this upcoming race.

This year, the men are ranked 19th heading into the race.

The women did not qualify for the meet, placing 14th out of 23 teams. The women were led by Anna Mion and Mikaela Bush. Defending champion Grand Valley State grabbed the first-place team trophy and Saginaw Valley State was second.