TERRE HAUTE, Indiana — As the runners prepared to start the race, Kelsey Tyler stood in the front and center of the seven IUPUI women’s runners at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Nov. 10.
The Jaguars were one of 34 teams along the starting line, and as Tyler looked down the 1,000-meter opening straightaway, she knew she was likely less than 25 minutes from being done with cross country.
Since 2002, the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana, has hosted 12 NCAA National Championships. Most of the sport’s greatest runners have ended their careers on this course over the last 15 years, and it’s where Tyler ended her cross country career, too.
“During the race, I really enjoyed just being in the race and thinking about my teammates and pushing hard and just kind of enjoying the fact that I’m here and that I’m able to do this,” Tyler said.
Tyler, who identifies her sexuality as queer, still has an indoor and outdoor track season ahead of her, but the smaller team and focus on distance running makes cross country distinct from track season for those in the sport.
“I’d like to be remembered as someone who worked really hard to get where they’re at and had a team mentality and really cared about every person on the team,” Tyler said.
She completed the 6 kilometer race in 23 minutes, 22 seconds. The 5-foot-3 senior finished 153rd of 223 runners. As a team, IUPUI came in 24th.
It was unlikely Tyler or the IUPUI team would extend the season. Only the top two teams and top four individuals are guaranteed a berth from the regional to the NCAA National Championships, held this year in Louisville, Kentucky. There is also a selective at-large berth process.
As a result, IUPUI geared its training to peak at the Horizon League Championships on Oct. 28. The Jaguars took second place at the conference meet, earning the program’s best finish ever at a conference meet.
“Conference was our main goal this season,” IUPUI cross country coach Antonio McDaniel said. “Kelsey was a big part of that. … One of the main reasons why we were able to have that trophy in my office right now is because of her — no doubt.”
Tyler finished 17th at the Horizon League meet and was the No. 2 runner for the Jaguars. Her 6-kilometer time that day was 23:14.4
“Overall, it’s been her best season that she’s had, which is always great as a senior,” McDaniel said. “I’m extremely proud of her and how she’s done in her career. It’s not over yet.”
Tyler hopes to carry her cross country success to track season.
“I feel really good,” Tyler said. “I’m still really fit, and I think my mindset racing is in a good place. I’m really excited to see what records, for myself, I can break during track season.”
Kelsey Tyler, 21, can be reached on Twitter (@Kelsey_Tyler) or Instagram (@KelseyRunner).
Names in bold are people that have announced publicly they identify as LGBT.
Division I
Schuyler Bailar (junior, Harvard men’s swimming) and David Pfeiffer (senior, Harvard men’s diving) were part of the Crimson opening the season Nov. 11 with home wins against Cornell and Dartmouth. Pfeiffer won the men’s 3-meter springboard with 354.5 points, and he took second on 1-meter (308.9 points) — both scores qualify him for the NCAA postseason in those events. Bailar swam the 100-yard butterfly as an exhibition race in 52.75 seconds.
Simon Carne (senior, Drexel men’s diving) and Anthony Musciano (sophomore, Drexel men’s diving) enjoyed success at the Loyola Invitational on Nov. 3-4. Musciano won the 1-meter (269.25) and took second on 3-meter (242.45), and he earned CAA Diver of the Week on Nov. 8 for his success. Carne took third on 3-meter (199.35) and fourth on 1-meter (232.5) at Loyola.
Xavier Colvin (redshirt sophomore, Butler football) recorded one tackle in the Bulldogs’ Nov. 4 win against Stetson. On Nov. 11, he had one tackle and a 13-yard kickoff return in a 36-28 loss to Valpo to end the season. Colvin accumulated 26 tackles and two sacks this season for the Bulldogs (6-5 overall).
Taylor Emery (junior, Virginia Tech women’s basketball) scored a team-high 20 points in her debut for the Hokies in the Nov. 10 season-opening 99-32 win against Wagner. Emery also had five rebounds and three assists.
Bryce Fehringer (sophomore, South Dakota men’s swimming) swam on the 400-yard freestyle relay that took fifth Nov. 10 at Iowa State. On Nov. 3-4, Fehringer competed in six events at the USD Tri-Duals, and his best finish was ninth in the 500-yard freestyle (5 minutes, 7.85 seconds).
Scott Frantz (redshirt sophomore, Kansas State football) started at left tackle the last two weeks as the Wildcats (5-5 overall, 3-4 Big 12) went 1-1. Kansas State beat Texas Tech 42-35 in overtime on Nov. 4, and West Virginia beat Kansas State 28-23 on Nov. 11.
Dylan Geick (freshman, Columbia wrestling) did not compete in the Nov. 12 season-opening Binghamtom Open.
Connor Griffin (junior, Fordham men’s swimming) competed in two events Nov. 10 against Fairfield. His best finish was fourth in the short-course 200-meter backstroke (2:20.91).
Bree Horrocks (redshirt junior, Vanderbilt women’s basketball) and Stephanie White (head coach, Vanderbilt women’s basketball) opened the season Nov. 10 with a 65-54 loss to Middle Tennessee State. Horrocks started at center in her Commodores debut, and she had two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes.
Ayrton Kasemets (senior, Oakland men’s swimming) won the 100-yard breaststroke (57.25 seconds) and took second in the 200 breaststroke (2:05.79) against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 10. Kasemets competed in four events Nov. 11 against Eastern Michigan, and he finished fourth in both the 100 breaststroke (57.64 seconds) and 200 breaststroke (2:08.58).
John Kim (redshirt senior, VMI men’s swimming) competed in three events Nov. 11 against William & Mary, and he won 200-yard backstroke (1:53.5). Kim won the 100 and 200 backstroke Nov. 4 against Howard in 52.53 seconds and 1:57.58, respectively.
Kennedy Lohman (sophomore, Texas women’s swimming) swam two events Nov. 10 against North Carolina State, and she finished eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.1). Lohman competed in two events at Texas A&M on Nov. 3, and she finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.64), her only individual event.
Cory Moreno (senior, Old Dominion men’s diving) won the 1-meter (284.9 points) and 3-meter springboard (308.8) against UMBC on Nov. 4.
EJ Proctor (senior, Duke women’s soccer) opened the NCAA tournament with her 11th solo shutout of the season on Nov. 11 in a 1-0 win against UNC-Greensboro. The No. 1-seeded Blue Devils (20-2 overall) advanced to face Oklahoma State on Nov. 17. Duke suffered its second loss of the season Nov. 5 to North Carolina, a 1-0 loss, in the ACC tournament championship game. On Nov. 2, it was announced Proctor received All-ACC First Team honors.
Elias Rieland (senior, Sacramento State men’s soccer) did not play in the team’s season-ending 3-2 loss to CSUN on Nov. 1 in the first round of the Big West tournament. The Hornets finish 8-9-2 overall.
G Ryan (senior, Michigan women’s swimming) did not compete Nov. 3-4 at Minnesota. Ryan has yet to compete this season for the Wolverines. According to team spokesman Bradley Rudner, Ryan is dealing with an injury and is expected to return at the team’s next meet Dec. 1.
Jack Thorne (junior, Northwestern men’s swimming) won the 100-yard backstroke (49.9 seconds) for the best finish of his three events Nov. 11 against Wisconsin. He competed in four events Nov. 3-4 at SIU-Carbondale, and he finished eighth in both the 100 and 200 backstroke with times of 51.84 seconds and 1:51.88, respectively.
Robbie White (redshirt sophomore, Northwestern men’s soccer) made five saves in the No. 8-seeded Wildcats’ 3-2 win against No. 9 seed Rutgers on Nov. 4 during the first round of the Big Ten tournament. White made two saves in a 4-1 loss to No. 1-seeded Michigan on Nov. 5 as Northwestern (7-12 overall) ended its season. This season, White made 55 saves with two shutouts in 10 starts, and the Wildcats went 5-5 in games he started.
Wayne Zhang (senior, Yale men’s diving) competed as an exhibition diver in the Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 meets.
Drew Davis (assistant coach, Creighton women’s volleyball) saw the No. 14-ranked Bluejays (22-5 overall, 15-1 Big East) go 4-0 the last two weeks to give the team 11 consecutive wins. The five-set win Nov. 12 at Butler clinched Creighton a share of its fourth consecutive Big East Conference regular season title.
Nunzio Esposto (diving coach, Duke men’s and women’s diving) led his divers to wins in three of four springboard events in a Nov. 3 dual meet at Virginia.
James Finley (head coach, Seattle women’s volleyball) closed the WAC season with a pair of wins. The Redhawks (11-16 overall, 7-7 WAC) earned the No. 5 seed in the WAC tournament, which started Nov. 16.
Patrick Jeffrey (diving coach, Stanford men and women) helped diver Haley Farnsworth sweep the springboard events against N.C. State on Nov. 3.
Shawn McLaughlin (assistant coach, Incarnate Word women’s volleyball) saw the Cardinals (8-15 overall, 7-9 Southland) go 3-1 the last two weeks of the regular season. UIW finished the regular season tied for eighth in the 13-team conference.
Lee-J Mirasolo (assistant coach, Harvard women’s hockey) watched the Crimson (3-1-1 overall) go 1-0-1 over two weeks. Harvard wore camouflage jerseys for Veteran’s Day during the 6-3 win against Brown on Nov. 10.
Jesse Moore (assistant coach, Northwestern women’s swimming) saw his team lose 161-130 in Saturday’s dual against Wisconsin.
Chip Rogers (assistant coach, Miami (Ohio) women’s field hockey) experienced the RedHawks (12-9 overall) winning their opening-round NCAA tournament game with a 2-1 win at Stanford on Nov. 8. Miami followed that with a cross-country trip to Duke, where Miami lost 4-2 on Nov. 11. The RedHawks reached the NCAA tournament after winning the Mid-American Conference tournament with a 2-1 overtime win against Kent State on Nov. 4.
Division II
Noah Ratliff (junior, Mercyhurst men’s water polo) contributed an assist as the Lakers (11-10 overall) beat Monmouth 19-5 on Nov. 4 in the quarterfinals of the CWPA Western Championships. Mercyhurst reached the championship game but lost 15-10 to Gannon.
Tony Nicolosi (head coach, Cal State East Bay men’s and women’s cross country) led the men’s team to an 11th-place finish and the women’s team to an 18th-place finish at the NCAA Division II West Regional on Nov. 5. It was the men’s highest finish since 1998 and the women’s best result since 2013. Men’s runner Chris Lessard earned all-region honors for finishing 21st.
Austin Olivares (assistant coach, Lindenwood swimming) saw the men’s team win and the women’s team take second at the Drury Invitational on Nov. 4. Both the men’s and women’s team won a dual meet against Missouri-St. Louis on Nov. 11.
Division III
Alec Donovan (redshirt sophomore, Centenary wrestling) went 3-2 at the season-opening Princeton Open on Nov. 4.
Lindsey Farrell (junior, McDaniel women’s soccer) assisted on the match-winning goal in overtime that lifted McDaniel to a 1-0 win against Gettysburg on Nov. 1 in the quarterfinal of the Centennial Conference tournament. McDaniel lost the semifinal match to Johns Hopkins in penalty kicks. The Green Terror (12-6-2 overall) ended their season Nov. 11 with a 1-0 loss to Lynchburg in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Taylor Reifert (junior, Pomona-Pitzer men’s soccer) recorded one shot in the Sagehens’ season-ending 3-0 loss to Redlands on Nov. 1 in the semifinals of the SCIAC tournament. Pomona-Pitzer finishes 8-8-2 overall, and Reifert ends the season with three goals and a team-high three assists.
Nick Vucovich (senior, Pomona-Pitzer men’s cross country) placed 19th of 124 runners to help the Sagehens win the West Regional team title on Nov. 11. Vucovich ran the 8-kilometer race in 26:06.45. Pomona-Pitzer, which scored 35 points, earned a berth to the NCAA Division III National Championship on Nov. 18. The regional title is the Sagehens’ first since 2013, and this marks their sixth consecutive national championship berth.
NAIA
Maria Berrum (junior, Robert Morris women’s soccer) scored the Eagles’ goal in their 2-1 season-ending loss to Trinity Christian on Nov. 7 in the semifinals of the CCAC tournament. Berrum scored seven goals this season for Robert Morris (8-9-3 overall).
Kyle Kurdziolek (redshirt junior, St. Francis football) recorded a team-high eight tackles in the season-ending 55-30 win against Trinity International on Nov. 11, and he logged four tackles in a 28-18 win against Robert Morris on Nov. 4. Kurdziolek decided to forego his final season of eligibility to pursue a master’s degree next year, so he took part in the Senior Day recognition on Nov. 11. Kurdziolek recorded 27 tackles in seven games this season for St. Francis (5-5 overall, 4-1 MSFA), which finished second in the MSFA.
Darrion McAlister (senior, Marian football) contributed to Marian (7-3 overall, 4-2 MSFA) ending its season by going 2-0 the last two weeks and outscoring its opponents by a combined 125-0.
NJCAA
Lexie Gerson (assistant coach, Harcum women’s basketball) saw the Bears open the season with a 91-62 win against Chesapeake on Nov. 3. After the opener, Harcum (1-2 overall) lost its next two games.
Layne Ingram (head coach, Lansing women’s basketball) opened the season with a 95-65 win against Oakland on Nov. 3.
Erik Hall can be reached via email at [email protected] or on Twitter @HallErik or on Facebook. If you are an out LGBT athlete or coach and want your accomplishments recognized, please email Erik.
