The ninth-ranked Middlebury women's cross country team travels to New York for the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday with aspirations of competing in the national championship.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers earned a second-place finish at the NESCAC Championship two weeks ago. Four of the top-five Middlebury runners recorded personal-best times at the league race.
• The squad enters the meet ranked ninth in the nation and second in the region.
• The Panthers began the campaign with three-consecutive team titles at the Silloway Maple Syrup Challenge, the Aldrich Invitational and the Hoffmann Invitational. The team achieved top-10 finishes in competitive fields at the Paul Short Run (fourth out of 44) and Connecticut College Invite (sixth out of 33).
• Middlebury claimed fifth at the regional event last season.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Audrey MacLean eyes the regional title after logging top-three placings in her first two tries at the Mideast Championship. The Panther secured her second conference crown in as many seasons with a 6K clocking of 20:47.8. MacLean's time was 17.2 seconds faster than the runner-up finisher. 
• Claire Palmer garnered NESCAC Rookie of the Year laurels after claiming third at the league meet at 21:06.9. The All-NESCAC First Team selection has claimed top-15 or better in all six invites this season, headlined by crossing the finish line first at the Silloway Maple Syrup Challenge.
• MK Cestaro climbed 27 spots from the 1.6-kilometer mark to the finish, clocking a 21:54.3 to better her career time by 6.3 seconds and place 16th.
• Shea Fajen secured a top-20 finish with a career-best time of 22:07.7 at the conference meet, which was 1.8 seconds faster than her previous performance at the Connecticut College Invitational. Grace Kaelber rounded out the Middlebury scorers at the league event, claiming 32nd (22:25.0) to improve her best clocking in the navy and white by 2.5 seconds.
• Naomi Atwood and Victoria Fawcett each ran their fastest races of the season at the conference championship. Atwood took 41st place at 22:37.2, while Fawcett stopped the clock at 22:52.7 for 51st.
• Lulu Baker and Stephanie Renouf complete the regional lineup. Baker narrowly missed the top-50 at the league race, clocking a personal record at 22:56.9. Renouf crossed the conference line in 23:20.1 to earn 75th.

ABOUT THE FIELD

• Reigning regional champion Jules Bleskoski returns to the fold for RPI, claiming the individual title with a clocking of 20:47.3 at the meet a year ago.
• The Ephs pursue their sixth-consecutive regional title after claiming the NESCAC Championship for the sixth year in a row. The squad owns the top spots in both the national and regional coaches polls.
• Senior Grace McDonough of Connecticut College challenged MacLean early in the conference meet before earning runner-up honors. The Camel looks to improve on her 21st-place showing at the regional meet a season ago.
• Vassar's Haley Schoenegge, Williams' Kate Tuttle and Wesleyan's Stephanie Ager all return after placing in the top five of last year's regional race.

CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION

• Location: Ronald C. Hoffmann Cross Country Course (Canton, N.Y.)
• Host School: St. Lawrence
• NCAA Selections
  • The top team from each of the 10 regions automatically qualifies for the NCAA Championship with 22 additional teams earning at-large bids.
  • The first seven runners from each region who are not part of a qualifying team will be selected to participate, tallying 70 additional individuals. 
• The top-35 athletes earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors. 

The NCAA Championship final selections will be on Sunday, November 16 at a time to be announced.