Nicholas Yaquinto at the Horizon League Championships

Men's Cross Country 11.10.25

UDM Heads To Evansville For NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships

Men's Cross Country 11.10.25

UDM Heads To Evansville For NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships

Sophomore Nicholas Yaquinto and the Titans will look for some fast times in the 10k.

DETROIT (11/11/2025) -- The next step in the postseason will have the Titans in the Hoosier State as the University of Detroit Mercy men's cross country team will run in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Friday.

The event will be held at the Angel Mounds Course in Evansville, Indiana. The women's 6k will start at 10:00 a.m., followed by the men's 10k at 11:00 a.m.

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This will be Detroit Mercy's first 10k race of the season as the field includes nationally ranked squads Michigan State (13), Butler (14), Wisconsin (#5), Notre Dame (#16), and Michigan (26).

The regional roster will feature senior Joshua Otten, juniors Kenyon Popiel and Christopher Russelburg, sophomores Ryan Belanger, Caleb Wynn, and Nicholas Yaquinto, and freshman Colin Murray.

Detroit Mercy last competed at the Horizon League Championships, taking seventh. Otten was First Team All-HL after finishing third in the 8k with a career-low 23:55, just one second shy of the school record. Murray was All-HL Second Team, placing 12th in 24:17 —the third-best time in school history —while Belanger posted a career-best 24:40, the fourth-best mark in the record book.

Last season, the Titans recorded 689 points for 23rd at the regionals. Otten ran 31:44 for 105th, the 10th-best 10k time in school history, and Belanger was 118th in 31:51.

UDM has some great history at the GLR as Ben Kendell '18 registered three top-50 efforts and was runner-up in 2018, en route to a spot in the NCAA Championships. He is still the only runner in school history to be named All-Region. Ken Dubois '88 recorded three top-50 finishes, including 23rd in 1985, while Chris McPhee '01 was 49th in 1997 and Patrick Liederbach '11 41st in 2010.

The men's best finish was 16th accomplished in 2014 and 1985.

The top 25 runners will be named All-Region, while the top two teams at each regional championship meet automatically qualify for the NCAA Division I championship. From each NCAA regional meet, the first four student-athletes not on a qualifying team will be automatic qualifiers to the NCAA championship meet. All individual automatic qualifiers must finish in the top 25 within their region.

Thirteen (13) at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division I Cross Country Subcommittee. This selection will be conducted on the Saturday following regional competition unless extraordinary circumstances arise. The committee will also select two at-large individuals by identifying the highest non-qualifying individual finishers at the regional meets. All individual at-large qualifiers must finish in the top 25 within their region.

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Players Mentioned

Patrick Liederbach: Senior

Ben Kendell: Graduate Student

Ryan Belanger: Distance; Sophomore

Joshua Otten: Distance; Senior

Kenyon Popiel: Distance; Junior

Christopher Russelburg: Distance; Junior

Caleb Wynn: Distance; Sophomore

Nicholas Yaquinto: Distance; Sophomore

Colin Murray: Distance; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Patrick Liederbach
: Senior

Ben Kendell
: Graduate Student

Ryan Belanger
: Sophomore
: Distance

Joshua Otten
: Senior
: Distance

Kenyon Popiel
: Junior
: Distance

Christopher Russelburg
: Junior
: Distance

Caleb Wynn
: Sophomore
: Distance

Nicholas Yaquinto
: Sophomore
: Distance

Colin Murray
: Freshman
: Distance