Nov. 14, 2008

Chicago, Ill. - The UIC men's and women's cross country teams head to Stillwater, Okla. for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 15.

The women's 6K event starts at 11 a.m. at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course, while men's 10K race is scheduled to follow at 11:45 a.m.

The top two teams from each region receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Monday, Nov. 24.

Nationally-ranked teams that the UIC women will be competing against include No. 7 Minnesota, No. 14 Illinois, No. 20 Iowa and No. 29 Nebraska.

Newcomers Kristen Heckert and Toni Ogundare have paced the women's squad this season.

Heckert earned All-Horizon League honors after leading the Flames with an 11th-place finish at the Horizon League Tournament on Nov. 1.

In addition to Ogundare's 17th-place finish at the league meet, the freshman has also grabbed three top finishes her rookie year.

Among the 25 teams, the men's field includes No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 15 Tulsa and No. 21 Iowa State.

Alex Sutphen will be looking to feed off his 10th-place finish at the league tournament which earned the senior Second Team All-Horizon League honors.

Brian Denk and Sam Kehoe each notched a top finish in one race this season for the Flames.

Sutphen has totaled three top spots, while Denk earned UIC's highest individual finish of fourth place at the DePaul Season Opener on Aug. 30.