Based on how No. 10 Michigan and No. 24 Michigan State have matched up all season, we suspected a tight qualification battle loomed out of the Great Lakes Region between these Mitten State schools, and that came to fruition today.

The two squads traded blows throughout the race, but 2017 Big Ten Conference champions Michigan ultimately gained the upper hand as they placed two women in the top three (Gina Sereno, second; Jamie Morrissey, third) for an overall team total of 71 while Michigan State placed two in the top 10 (Jeralyn Poe, seventh; Maggie Farrell, eighth) for 87 points. 



Not too far behind, the No. 17 Badgers threw down a valiant effort on the course to score 93 for third, thanks in large part to Sarah Disanza (fourth), Amy Davis (ninth), and Shaelyn Sorensen (13th). 

Davis and Disanza are sticking together in the top 10 runners with Monson and Shaelyn Sorensen close behind! pic.twitter.com/Oi7DRuMB9G

— Badger Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) November 10, 2017

Indiana's Katherine Receveur, who finished 11th at last year's NCAA Championships, led the individual qualifiers by winning the race in 20:34. She will be joined in Louisville by No. 23 Eastern Michigan's Jordan McDermitt (fifth) and Hanne Christensen (sixth), as well as Amy Davis of Wisconsin. 



FULL RESULTS

Men's Race 

Like the South Central Regional, the men's team results closely reflected the women's at the Great Lakes Regional today, except No. 17 Michigan State ended up victorious with 68 points over in-state rival No. 14 Michigan's 79. 

#NCAAGreatLakes: The Mitten State doubles up! Men's teams from @MSUTrackFieldXC and @UMichTrack are headed to #NCAAXC.

MORE - https://t.co/6tLgA7YjQk pic.twitter.com/D5XTEnTGXA

— USTFCCCA (@USTFCCCA) November 10, 2017

Senior Ben Flanagan led the charge for Michigan by taking first in sub-31 as he triumphantly shook his fist crossing the finish line. 



But only one more Wolverine managed to crack the top 10 as Flanagan's classmate, Connor Mora, finished seventh. Michigan's third runner, Aaron Baumgarten, finished 20th, which ended up making the difference for Michigan State. 

The Spartans landed three runners in the top 10 (Morgan Beadlescomb, fifth; Clark Ruiz, eighth; Max Benoit, 10th) to eke out an advantage over Michigan, which finished with the same top-five average time (31:17).

Like the Badger women, the Wisconsin men ended up on the outside of automatic qualification looking in with 84 points. Sophomore Oliver Hoare had a day by finishing third to secure the individual qualification. He won't be heading to Louisville alone--senior Joe Hardy wasn't far behind, and grabbed sixth.

At the 7K mark, and the #Badgers are looking strong

Hoare and Hardy leading the pack with Eidenschink, Miehe, and Gessner not far behind. pic.twitter.com/R4y2l17sJ6

— Badger Track & Field (@BadgerTrackXC) November 10, 2017

Eastern Michigan senior Hlynur Andresson also individually qualified in second, as well as Indiana sophomore Ben Veatch in fourth.

FULL RESULTS

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