WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue Cross Country is set for the 2026 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Michigan State, on Friday, Nov. 13. The women’s 6k runs at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the men’s 10k at 11 a.m. ET.
Meet Notes
• The top two teams in each regional will secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The first four regional individual finishers from non-automatic qualifying or at-large teams also secure a bid to the NCAA Championships.
• The top 25 finishers in each race will receive NCAA Great Lakes All-Region recognition.
Men’s Notes
• The men’s squad is coming off a strong showing at the Big Ten Championships where they finished seventh after being seeded 10th.
• Hugh Jacobsmeyer led Purdue in 29th in the 8k race and it marked the first time he led Purdue during a cross country meet. He finished 72 places higher than last season.
• Douglas Buckeridge followed in 30th and has been top 30 in the Big Ten all four seasons as a Boilermaker. He enters Friday as a three-time Greak Lakes All-Region selection and qualified for the NCAA Championships back in 2024.
• Nerius White, who led Purdue in all three regular season meets, finished third for the Boilers at Big Tens in 60th.
• Daniel Emmert (62nd) and Nate Assa (69th) closed out Purdue’s top five at the Big Ten Championships. Emmert was 65 spots higher than 2025, while Assa improved by 43 spots.
Women’s Notes
• Lauren Pegher had the best run of her career at Big Tens when she finished 31st in the 6k race. She improved by 94 spots over her placement in 2025 and was Purdue’s highest women’s finisher since Emma Benner in 2017 (excluding the 2020 season that several programs chose not to participate).
• Sawyer DeWitt was Purdue’s second finisher in 95th at her first Big Tens competition. She will participate in her second NCAA Great Lakes Regional after she ran with Indiana State last season as a freshman and finished 73rd.
• Katherine Valentine finished 115th to improve her placement by 22 spots over her 2025 finish, while Paige Hazelrigg followed right behind in 116th.
Next Up
Qualified Boilers will head to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana on Saturday, Nov. 21.
