Eastern’s women’s cross country have proven throughout the year that they are a winning team. They won the EIU Walt Crawford Open, placed fourth out of 12 in the Redbird Open, and won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship.

Looking forward, Eastern will be racing in Stillwater, Oklahoma today for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship. There are a few key runners to watch at this meet.

The Panthers have been led by senior Mackenzie Aldridge all year. She has been the first to finish in every meet ran by Eastern this season. Aldridge finished second in the OVC Championship with a time of 21:11.90. This will be Aldridge’s third regionals meet during her time at Eastern, the most out of any competing runner on the women’s team.

Redshirt senior Sarah Carr also adds a veteran presence to the team. Carr has been running with EIU since 2019. Carr has been essential for the team’s success this season, scoring for Eastern in every meet so far. She finished fifth in the OVC Championship with a time of 21:36.10.

The two veteran runners are followed by freshman stand out, Brenda Torres. Brenda was the second panther to finish in the Louisville XC Classic and the Redbird Invitational. She finished third in the Walt Crawford Open as well as the OVC Championship (Where she finished with a 21:58.20).

All three have produced for Eastern’s women’s cross country throughout the season and will be runners to look out for in the regionals meet.

The Panthers will be running at 10:30 today at Oklahoma State University.

Aidan Cusack can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.