The NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship meet on Friday was a successful meet for the Flashes. 

Junior Baidy Ba earned his ticket to the NCAA Cross Country Championships by placing thirteenth place out of 211 runners. 

He beat his personal best for the 10K with a time of 30:02.4. 

Ba also earned All-Region honors, making him the first Flash to earn multiple All-Region honors. 

The next three men across the finish line for Kent State were sophomore Dylan McBride (32:06.7) in 129th place, senior Ethan Yost (32:19.8) in 138th place, and graduate student Trey Double (32:28.2) in 143rd place. 

All three men ran personal best times in the 10K. 

The men’s team placed 21st out of 30 teams. 

For the ladies, the first three across the finish line were junior Sydney Gallagher (22:54.3) in 140th place, sophomore Karsyn Spears (23:02.1) in 149th place, and freshman Ella McCollom (23:09.3) in 160th place.

Spears ran a personal best time for herself. 

The women’s team placed 26 out of 32 teams. 

Looking ahead, Baidy Ba will be participating in the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 18th at Panorama Farms Cross Country Course in Charlotte, Virginia. 

Panorama Farms Cross Country Course is the site of Ba’s first and only victory this season.

Ba is the 6th runner in the program’s history to qualify for multiple national meets since Ed Norris in 1967 and 1970.

The championship will be live on ESPNU, with the men’s races at 11 a.m. 

Robyn Taylor is a reporter. Contact her @[email protected].