Maddi Clark Earns Berth in NCAA Division III Championships
| NCAA Division III Championships News Release |
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Wittenberg junior Maddi Clark (Mentor, OH / Mentor) has qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. She is the fifth runner to qualify for the national meet in program history and the third runner in the last four years, joining Abi Gerstle (2000, 2001, 2002), Mary Pfeifer (2009, 2010, 2011), Corin Turkovich (2022), and Ella Webster (2023).
Clark advanced to the NCAA Championship after posting a 12th-place finish in the Great Lakes Regional Championships with a time in the 6K race of 22:30.64 on Saturday, Nov. 15, in Louisville, Kentucky. She led the Tigers to a 17th-place finish in the team standings.
A total of 32 teams and 70 additional individuals make up the field for both the men and women at the 2025 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 22. The event is scheduled to take place at the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg, SC, with Converse University, Limestone University and OneSpartanburg, Inc. serving as the hosts.
"There is no one more deserving of being a national qualifier than Maddi," said Paris Hilliard, director of Wittenberg track and field and cross country. "This has been her goal since the summer. She made a true commitment to her goal, and it's fulfilling to see it come to fruition."
The first-place teams at each of the 10 regional championships earn bids to the NCAA meet automatically, with the other 22 spots earned through a process of at-large selections. No NCAC teams earned berths in the NCAA Division III Championships this year, but four individual runners advanced. Joining Clark at the national event are John Carroll sophomore Sam Su in the men's race, and John Carroll senior Abby Schroff and Ohio Wesleyan junior Zoe Ward in the women's race.
At the NCAA meet, the women's 6K is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., shortly after the men's 8K will is completed. A live web stream of the championships will be available at NCAA.com until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.
Written By: Ryan Maurer